Second Chance
by Count Valerian
Summary: Whoever said that the darkness does not answer a plea for help? But that is not to say that the response is necessarily good either. Adopted from Captain Silver.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 1

Zouken Matou dragged Sakura behind him down the stairs leading down towards the basement of Matou Manor, the little girl struggling to keep up and cringing at the old man's grip on her arm. His grip wasn't particularly tight per se, but his hand was cold and clammy, almost as though there was no life blood in him at all. Worse yet were his eyes, black and inhuman, leering at her from the moment she had arrived with a sinister light.

The basement of the Matou Manor was simply put, forbidding. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made from unfinished stone, coated in dirt and grime as though steeped in the evil of the master of this place. The walls all had niches in them, large enough to hold a man, and Sakura shivered as much from the shrouding shadows as well as the sinister crawling motions hidden by those same shadows.

Zouken didn't notice her shivering, or probably didn't care as he dragged her across the room towards a pit in the middle of the floor. A pit that Sakura realized to her horror was filled with countless worms and insects, prompting her to struggle hard in an attempt to escape. Zouken tightened his grip, growling in annoyance as Sakura fought against her fate. Realizing that escape was otherwise impossible, the girl opened her circuits in desperation, causing Zouken to let go and take a half-step back in surprise.

In most iterations of the timeline, Sakura had never learned any form of magecraft prior to this point. In this iteration however, before she had left, her sister had taught her a small amount, opening her circuits and teaching her how to use projection. Opening her circuits for the first time had been excruciatingly painful, although successive activations were much less so. Projection, while a generally useless spell, had been taught by Rin as an exercise in controlling and fine-tuning one's own prana.

Zouken had clearly not expected the girl to know how to use magecraft, and had instinctively recoiled the moment he had felt prana flare through the girl's circuits. A moment later, reason reasserted itself, and he quickly surmised that while the girl might know a few basic spells, none of them should pose a threat to him. Smirking smugly, he stepped and stooped forward, arm extended to grab the girl where she had fallen on the ground and was now fumbling desperately in a pocket.

Sakura had no elemental affinities, and as such would not normally be capable of using elemental magecraft. But while she couldn't directly use it, she could use it indirectly through the use of mystic codes. And once again Zouken was caught by surprise when Sakura pulled out a gem her sister had given her (just in case Rin had said) and flung it at Zouken with a shouted "…release!"

The gem exploded with enough force to pulverize Zouken's current body, and Sakura immediately got up and ran towards the stairs. She had almost reached them when to her horror swarms of insects flew towards the stairs and melted together into a parody of a Human body: Zouken Matou. "Well, that was certainly surprising…" the old man conceded. "…and undoubtedly rude too; we'll have to break you out of that habit."

Sakura staggered back, face contorted in terror, when she slipped and fell hard on her back, cutting her hand on the rough floor in the process. As she cradled her bleeding hand, she looked up the stairs and watched with tearful eyes as the magus slowly descended down the stairs. "It's pointless child…" Zouken gloated. "…no one's going to save you. You might as well just give up and jump in the pit by yourself."

Neither of the two noticed the blood dripping onto the floor, as Sakura silently and frantically begged for someone to save her. And in the darkness, something answered. It had waited for over fifty years, and while it could not be truly released unless the container was filled and then opened, it could indirectly influence the external world. The child's silent pleas reached its ears, and it noted the desperate desire in the child's voice. This could work.

"…_do you wish to be saved, or do you not wish to be saved?_" a voice asked Sakura in the depths of her mind, time slowing to a crawl like warm honey.

"_...what?_"

"…_do you wish to be saved, or do you not wish to be saved?_"

"_...who are you?_"

"…_do you wish to be saved, or do you not wish to be saved?_"

"_...anyone…anything…just get me away from here!_"

"…_then accept the contract…_"

"…_contract?_"

"_...you shall be the good of all creation…_"

"…_I am the good of all creation…_"

"_...you shall be the evil of all creation…_"

"_...I shall be the evil of all creation…_"

"_...by the power of the Holy Grail, may your wish…be granted…_"

After centuries of life and evil, few things could now surprise Zouken Matou. One of those was the appearance of a brilliantly glowing summoning circle around the girl, who grimaced as an unseen force carved command spells onto her hand. Desperately, Zouken sent swarms of insects suck out her prana before she could summon her Servant…too late. With a burst of light and wind, the latter of which shredded all the incoming insects, a feminine figure cloaked and hooded in black materialized before Sakura.

Sakura looked up at the woman's shadowed face with a mixed expression of surprise and apprehension on her face, desperate to find reassurance at the woman's surprised smile. "Well now…" she said with an amused tone. "…to be summoned by a child of all people."

Kneeling down to where the girl was lying on the ground, the Servant removed her hood and causing Sakura's eyes to widen in shock and awe at her beautiful face and elfin ears. "I am the Princess of Colchis Medea and the Servant Caster…" she introduced herself. "…what's your name little one?"

"…Sakura…"

Caster smiled wider and patted her reassuringly on the head. And then she swept her eyes across the dank chamber, her expression growing grim and displeased before she stood and looked judgingly upon the magus blocking the stairs with his foul presence.

"…impossible…impossible…" Zouken babbled out in shock; Sakura had not only summoned a Servant, but an utterly first class one at that, and without a catalyst or a prepared summoning circle to boot.

"You rotting corpse…" Caster hissed, drawing a dagger with a jagged and iridescent blade. "…I don't know what you were trying to do with my Master, but don't think you'll get away with it." And before Zouken could respond, Caster dropped back to her knees while stabbing her Noble Phantasm into the ground. "Rule Breaker…!" she shouted, the Noble Phantasm shattering all the bounded fields within the Matou Estate in an instant. Immediately afterwards, a gloved hand tucked Rule Breaker back into her robes while the other was raised palm facing a shocked Zouken. Prana released from the destruction of the Matou bounded fields gathered in her palm to form a glowing sphere of magical power.

Roaring in fear and fury, Zouken attempted to counter-absorb the dissipated prana, forgetting in his rage that Caster – Medea herself – far outclassed him as a magus. "…fool!" Caster sneered, firing her bolt and obliterated not just Zouken and the stairs, but also the entire front third of the Matou Manor. The explosion also collapsed part of the ceiling, forcing a terrified and screaming Sakura to take shelter in Caster's shadow. As debris fell around them, Caster theatrically swept out an arm and pulled Sakura in close. And with a swirl of collapsing space, she and her Master vanished from that place. As Zouken Matou reformed, seething with anger, it laughed in the darkness.

* * *

"Very good my son…" Risei Kotomine congratulated Kirei, who was standing beside the black-clothed and white-masked figure of his Servant – Assassin. "…report back to Tokiomi, and follow the predetermined plan. With all due caution, of course – it would not do for our alliance with the Tohsaka Clan to go public."

"Understood father…" Kirei responded with a bow, but paused before leaving.

"Is something wrong?"

"Forgive me father…" Kirei responded with another bow. "…however I must express my doubts once more about Tokiomi's judgment."

Risei could understand that. While the Tohsaka Clan knew only of the generalities behind the Matou magecraft, the Holy Church on the other hand was well aware of the details. The only thing that had thus far kept Zouken from the blades of the Executors was the simple fact that he wasn't quite a Dead Apostle…yet. For someone to hand over a child to him…it was unthinkable.

Both Risei and his son were parents, and the knowledge that they were allied with someone who could do something like that left a foul taste in their mouths. Even Kirei for all his psychological issues could not help but be disgusted by Tokiomi's decision. But it was not their place to question how the magi operate, and merely to judge them and deliver divine retribution when they crossed the line. However, the same day the girl had been given away part of the Matou Manor had been blown up and Sakura had gone missing. Zouken had been beside himself in fury, and had thrown everything in searching for the missing girl.

Kirei had however noticed that appearance aside, Tokiomi was also conducting a search of his own for Sakura, but whether he intended to return her to Zouken once he found her was beyond him. "While I share your doubts regarding the man's judgment, we must leave the conduct to him." Risei told his son. "At any rate, I am confident that you are capable of compensating for his weaknesses. The only one to worry about is one Emiya Kiritsugu; the magus killer will not fight like a magus, whereas the others will. Tokiomi is more than capable of confronting them on even terms. And with his Servant, well…"

"I understand. At any rate all Servants have been summoned, have they not?"

"They have."

Kirei bowed and left, leaving his father behind in the church. As he left the building, Assassin faded away into invisibility, although she and the other incarnations (who had remained in astral form within the church) kept watchful eyes on their Master's surroundings. As the young priest left the church grounds and walked down the side of the main road, he pondered the supposed activities of the Caster for the past year. While they had yet to isolate the Servant's stronghold, it was clear that the Servant of the Spell was gathering prana by sending her familiars to drain random groups of individuals across the city at night of their od. Not enough to kill them, but enough to incapacitate them for an extended period of time. But while this was a violation of the spirit of the rules of the contest, Risei had been unable to find a legal excuse to disqualify Caster, as the incapacitated individuals had all been declared as victims of gas leaks by the mundane authorities.

At this point Kirei found himself struck by an epiphany. Caster had been summoned the same day Sakura had gone missing, and Tokiomi's own investigations had uncovered that the Matou Manor had been blown up from the inside. Furthermore, evidence had been uncovered of magecraft comparable in accumulated history to magic schools dating back to the Age of the Gods. And while there were magi in this day and age who had access to that kind of power, Kirei began to wonder: did Sakura accidentally summon a Servant on that night? Was it even possible? With those questions in mind, he turned and headed back to Kotomine Church.

* * *

Risei was about to head back to his private sanctum when he felt Kirei coming back. "Kirei…" he asked his son as he entered the church. "…what's wrong?"

The other priest looked at him with a serious expression and asked "Is it possible that Sakura could have summoned a Servant no, the Servant Caster on that night and sent it against Zouken?"

"That's absurd." Risei scoffed. "Sakura knows no magecraft, does she not? Furthermore, even if she did succeed in summoning a Servant, how could she sustain one all this time? Where would they have gone?"

Kirei thought for several moments, rethinking his earlier assumptions…and came to another horrifying conclusion. People being drained of their prana…could it be? Sakura certainly could not sustain her Servant on her own, but a Caster-class had no real need for a Master. They could simply find an alternate source of prana and they would be fine on their own. He immediately informed his father of his hypotheses.

Risei blinked, and then nodded in understanding. Sakura might not have been trained in magecraft, but her terror at the Matou familiars could have opened them, while her desire for someone to save her could simultaneously draw the Grail's attention. And it was ultimately the Grail which selected the Masters, and none other. Risei swore under his breath; it all fit. As Kirei had pointed out, Caster's enforced collection of prana could easily be him or her seeking out an alternative source of prana for his or her continued existence. And there was nothing that they could do about it; so long as Caster didn't risk exposing the contest to the general population, Risei had no grounds to censure the Servant. But that still begged the question: where were Caster and Sakura?

Risei also cringed over the coming uproar. Zouken would go up in flames, especially since as a Master neither Risei nor Tokiomi could pull rank on Sakura; as a Master with a contracted Servant she had the right to conduct her affairs as she pleased within the rules of the contest, and thus out of their hands. Unless Zouken wanted to fight a Servant on his own, there was nothing he could do. Though that certainly would be amusing to watch, seeing as Servants were probably as if not more powerful than the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. Tokiomi's Archer could probably crush even ORT with ease if he so wished.

Tokiomi and Aoi would be pleased to see their daughter safe and sound, although her status as a Master – along with resentment the girl probably felt at being thrown away – might cause trouble on that issue. Another concern was that Sakura had summoned a Servant at age five, whereas Rin had not. Tokiomi might even wonder if he had chosen correctly regarding his heiress, which might lead to no end of trouble.

Finally Risei sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. "Kirei…" he ventured.

"Yes father…?"

"Go and inform Tokiomi."

"…at once."

Risei sighed again after his son had left. Heading back into his private sanctum, he wondered if he still had some Spanish brandy in stock. He needed a drink before he could consider the matter of a child as a Master in depth.

* * *

"…Sakura's a Master?" Tokiomi burst out in shock. Of all the things that he feared had happened to his youngest, this had never entered his mind.

"It is unconfirmed information, but an accidental summoning is a likely scenario given the damage inflicted on the Matou Manor that night, and the time fits as well – Caster was summoned that night. Furthermore Caster has been gathering prana for the past year at a sustained rate. If so, and Sakura is her Master, then this probably to compensate for the fact that his or her Master cannot sustain her on her own." Kirei reported.

Tokiomi was silent for several moments before he sighed and curtly said "…get out. I need to…think."

Kirei bowed before leaving, Tokiomi left alone to ponder this development. On one hand he was very proud of Sakura; she had not only summoned a Servant (even if it was an accidental summoning) at such a young age, even if actually maintaining it was impossible for her on her own. The Servant was a Caster-class too, who might even teach her mysteries lost to modern magi. All pointed to Sakura becoming a powerful and knowledgeable magus in the future.

On the other hand, she was now a Master and a target by the participants. And considering her age, it was likely the other Masters would not wish to kill her, but appropriate her for their families' benefit. Another problematic issue was the danger that if Sakura survived the war and learned mysteries beyond the ken of mortal magi. Tokiomi knew that a confrontation between siblings was inevitable, except that he had planned for Rin to be remembered as a great magus who had attained the Root with Sakura as a great magus who contended against her. However at this rate Rin might end up being crushed by her vengeful sister and have every trace of her existence and by extension that of the Tohsaka swept into the dustbin of history. That was not a desired ending to the scenario, not at all.

Tokiomi's musings broke off at an amused laugh from the King of Heroes, who entered with a glass of wine in his hand. "Kirei told me…" he said laconically, and Tokiomi silently cursed at that news. "…so you threw away a brilliant child and kept a mediocre weakling as your heiress…what a failure, Tokiomi."

"Rin is not mediocre." Tokiomi ground out, and immediately recognized his mistake as the King of Heroes glared down at him.

"Be thankful that I am in an amused mood tonight Tokiomi…" he said, taking a sip. "…otherwise you would pay dearly for interrupting the King. And yes, she is mediocre. Firstly, she is mediocre because I said so. And second, she is mediocre because compared to her, her sister has succeeded in summoning a Heroic Spirit at the meagre age of five…hmmm…perhaps Humanity has not fallen as far as I suspected, and there still exists those who are worthy to walk the paths of my garden…"

"…it is as you say…" Tokiomi said humbly, and Archer smirked before leaving.

"Good, you know your place." He said, striding off and leaving Tokiomi alone in his study.

* * *

A/N

I adopted the premise and part of this chapter from Captain Silver's 'A Knight's Legacy'. The premise was promising, but his version had a couple of plot holes I fixed up. Let's start with the summoning: Sakura drew Angra Mainyu's attention because of her Sorcery Trait 'Imaginary Numbers' which gives her an affinity for demons and other beings made from the Sixth Imaginary Element. I don't know what conditions the Grail/Angra Mainyu takes into account when choosing Masters apart from the three founding families, but given her Sorcery Trait, I imagine that despite having no connection to the Grail herself, her thoughts and desires resonate more with Angra Mainyu than that of other potential Masters.

Second we have the Servants. Captain Silver chose proto-Sabre…I chose Caster. Why; because it's more logical. Sakura should have enough prana to summon a Servant even with recently-opened circuits; hell, Shiro was able to summon Sabre without any open circuits (prior to learning from Rin he was actually altering his nerves into circuits much to her anger when she found out). The problem is sustaining her…which Sakura does not need to, since Caster/Medea can just draw prana from Ryuudo Temple (yes, that's where they are) and from the citizens of Fuyuki. Furthermore, Medea as an anti-hero would be more suitable as a choice of Servant for Angra Mainyu to give Sakura (without a catalyst it is the Grail which selects a Servant for a Master) and would actually be able to teach Sakura something useful. Well, that's enough notes for one chapter, I'll continue my rant (or not) in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 2

_One year ago_

Caster sat on her shared futon, stroking her Master's hair as she slept with her head in the Servant's lap. The monks at Ryuudo Temple had been quite hospitable, with Caster wondering if she had really needed to use mental interference to make them more believing of her cooked-up stories about an abusive husband and such. Such hospitality had to be rewarded, and Caster knew she could not simply reduce them to mindless slaves or drain them of their prana. Regardless of what she felt about the gods, the law of hospitality was sacrosanct, with clear obligations on the part of both host and guest. The monks had fulfilled their role as hosts well, now it was her obligation to fulfil the role of a grateful guest. She would not break the obligation…yet. Not until it was absolutely necessary.

Caster continued to stroke Sakura's hair, disturbed by what she had seen in the girl's memories when she had taken a brief glance into them just as she had fallen asleep. The girl's mother raised her children well, and appeared to care for her and her sister, but she was too weak-minded for Caster's own tastes. For one thing, she was too submissive to her husband, who Caster found a very disturbing man. As a magus the man was every inch what might be expected from a model of the term, and that was precisely the problem. Caster knew that the path of the magus was a harsh one, better than most in fact, but to throw away one's own child…

Caster smiled ruefully as she remembered poisoning her own children. But she knew that she had no other choice…if they had lived, Jason would have corrupted them beyond all hope, and that was assuming that they weren't killed by the vengeful citizenry for what she had done to their king and to his slut of a daughter. But even if others claimed that she was a treacherous witch, and the Greek gods and their blind followers vilified her throughout history, she knew that she had done the right thing. And not all the gods had condemned her…her grandfather, the Sun Titan Helios had supported her, as did Hera, who cursed Jason to wander the Earth for the rest of his miserable life for betraying her. Small comfort…but it was enough. If only barely…

"I'm sorry Sakura…" Caster whispered, careful not to wake her up. "…you probably hope I'll be able to protect you from danger from now on, but I'm not sure if I can promise you that. Just for starters, summoning me has probably placed you in more danger than before. And there's the fact that I am who I am: Medea. The treacherous witch from Greek mythology…even though every misfortune had happened because of the gods' heartless actions, I guess in the end people will never understand that…"

Caster laughed bitterly, before wiping away tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. "You'd probably hate and distrust me too if you found out who I really am, but…even if I can't promise to protect you from everything that could harm you, I can promise you this: I won't let you fall into that monster's hands ever again, or even back to your so-called family. I know what it's like to lose a child, and I could see through your memories…your parents cared not a bit what you felt when you were thrown away like useless garbage. Your father saw you only as a piece of meat, and your mother…if she really cared…why? Why didn't she stop it from happening? Even if she didn't know what would happen to you…how could she just let you go?"

Caster was crying now, her voice cracking as she remembered weeping while holding her children's lifeless bodies in her arms…purple bolts flying from her hands and driving the mob back as she stood before the threshold of the Temple of Hera, her children's final resting place…and she remembered calling down the wrath of Hera on Jason as she stood atop her grandfather's chariot, drawn by dragons…

"…we're the same…" a child's voice said, pulling Caster from her memories. Looking down at her lap, she noticed that Sakura had awoken. The little girl rubbed an eye as she sat up, sadly looking up at Caster's face. "…I saw them in my dreams…that man didn't care what you felt, and only wanted you for so long as you were useful to him…f-father…that man and woman didn't want me either…but when I shouted into the darkness you answered me…even with all the things you've done…that's why…if no one else wants us, if no else loves us…then let's stay together, m-mother…

Sakura flushed as she said those words, rubbing away her own tears as she tried to look away to hide her face and what she felt about her blood parents and this woman who had saved her from a monster that walked among men. Medea didn't say anything. There was nothing to say after all, and all she could do was to hold her daughter close as she cried herself to sleep. "_That's right…_" she thought to herself as she tucked herself into the futon along with Sakura by her side. "_...I answered your call. We're the same…no one else cares about us…I've already told the monks that we're supposed to be mother and child, so we might as well be one in reality as well. Isn't that what you want, Sakura? Tohsaka…Matou…if you and others wish further harm on my daughter, then beware!_ _No matter what it takes, I shall make certain that you know the wrath of my revenge!_"

* * *

Caster looked up at the Moon as it shone down on the courtyard of Ryuudo Temple, then stepped forward and coolly regarded the assembled ranks of her familiars. Dragon Tooth Warriors – no match by any stretch of the imagination for another Servant or a prepared magus, but against ordinary Humans…Caster knew she had to deploy her temple as soon as possible, but she was barely hanging on as it was even by gathering prana from Ryuudo Temple's ley line. She needed more…holding out a gloved hand, the warriors stepped forward and took one mystic code each from the offered hand. The codes were enchanted to deploy a pre-set gaseous mixture that would shroud the targeted area, and simultaneously incapacitate the inhabitants. Caster would then drain them of prana through her familiars at her leisure.

Caster knew this was a considerable risk, but she believed that so long as no one was killed and the mundane authorities believed in what they were supposed to believe (the nature of the attacks would impress the idea of a gas leak on the investigators' minds), then both the Overseer and the Supervisor would look the other way. As her familiars stalked off into the darkness, she sighed and went back to her room. Sakura was waiting for her, sitting on their futon.

"Sakura…" Caster asked with concern evident on her features. "…are you sure you want to do this? The ritual will be extremely painful for the both of us, but more so for you. And while it would certainly be easier for me to teach you my magic if you undergo the blood adoption ritual, I can still teach you even if we don't do this."

"It's alright." Sakura answered, though she thought it over for a minute or so while her mother looked down on her with concern. "I want to do this. If we do this…we'll really be related, won't we?"

Caster looked at her for a moment before sighing and taking a seat before the girl. Silently casting a bounded field around the room to prevent anyone from entering or viewing the interior whether by mundane or magical means, she pulled out a blood-red stone from her robes. Condensed from her blood and enchanted by means known only to the eldest schools of witchcraft in the modern era (who guarded their craft jealously), she offered it to Sakura who took it and swallowed it without hesitation.

And then came the pain; Sakura collapsed to the floor screaming, acid pouring through her veins as entire sections of her soul were wiped clean and made anew, her very identity being rewritten by blood magic. Caster was also writhing in agony near her, burning knives driven into her while animals chewed away on her nerves as her soul too was rewritten to accept alterations in reality. "M-mother…" Sakura gasped out, twisting her body to face Medea, a hand outstretched in supplication. "…it hurts…"

Gasping, Medea pulled herself closer, dragging her body to Sakura's side and holding her close. "It's alright dearest…" she whispered, holding the girl tightly to her body while stroking her hair with one hand. "…I'm with you now. I won't let go. We'll deal with this together, and it'll be over soon, I promise." As she soothed Sakura to sleep (and refusing to take refuge in sleep until she was sure the girl had done so ahead of her), Medea took grim satisfaction that another was suffering worse than her and her daughter.

* * *

Aoi Tohsaka screamed in her bed, unable to register her husband's frantic attempts to calm her down, or her daughter's cries as she watched her mother writhe in inhuman agony. It felt as though something intrinsically part of her was being torn out, leaving a gaping hole behind it that could not be filled, and would never be filled, an eternal mark of something lost and would never be regained. Tokiomi Tohsaka desperately struggled to discover and stop whatever curse was striking at his wife, realizing from the beginning that her agony was magical in nature. But he couldn't stop it. All he could discover was that reality itself was scraping away at her soul in ways that were beyond all but the oldest forms of witchcraft or the Third Magic itself. And there was nothing he could do. Reality itself demanded that Aoi lose something from her soul, and that something was to be given to someone else. And from that night on – a night wherein Aoi was tormented to the edge of insanity unable to be comforted by anyone who understood her pain – the pain of a mother losing her child in an infinitely profound way – whereas Medea and Sakura comforted each other in their agony – Aoi Tohsaka ceased to be Sakura' mother.

Medea of Colchis had taken her place.

* * *

A mother and her child walked down the street, both dressed in shades of blue and violet. There wasn't anything unusual about that, though most onlookers who gave them more than a cursory glance would note that both were very happy spending time together. "I haven't seen this place before…" Medea Colchis noted, stopping before a café on their way home. Smiling she turned to her daughter, Sakura Colchis who tilted her head quizzically as her mother looked at her. "…do you want to try it out?"

"…okay…"

Pushing the door open, Medea walked into the café followed by Sakura…and blinked at the sight of the employees in the cafe. Were they even Human though? Then again, she wasn't exactly one to talk about being Human, being a Heroic Spirit (well technically she was an anti-hero) and had elf ears to boot.

"Welcome to Ahnenerbe." One of them said; it was a…female (?) cat person with pink hair wearing a white blouse and purple shorts. It also disconcertingly enough sounded like her. "…table for two?"

"…yes please." She replied, and followed the cat (?) to a nearby table. The waitress left for a few moments before returning with a pair of menus. "Well then Sakura, what do you want to have?"

Sakura looked over the menu for a while before giving a reply. "I'll have a slice of raspberry pie and cold chocolate milk." She said, and Medea smiled indulgently.

"Then I'll have a slice of raspberry pie too, and some hot coffee." She told the waitress, who noted it down before politely asking them to wait, and then walking off to the counter. "So, where do you want to go afterwards?"

"Can we go see the sunset over the water?" Sakura asked, and Medea nodded in agreement.

"That's a good idea…" she said, then thought for a moment. "…I know of a good place to watch the sunset too."

Sakura beamed and immediately engrossed herself looking around at the café interior. Medea settled back into her seat and sighed in contentment. It had barely been a month since the blood adoption had been performed (although Sakura still had to take regular infusions at night to stabilize her soul but Medea expected the need to do so would end by the year's end), but the two now lived as though they had known each other for all their lives. How she missed this…having a child to look after was a hassle, but it was certainly worth it, to have a little one of one's own to love and have by one's side.

Sakura's hair was still black for the most part, but it already showing signs of blue near the roots, the same blue of Medea's hair. Her facial and body structure too were changing, shifting to match her new mother, and by the time she grew up she would undoubtedly take after Medea in physical appearance. Except for her ears and eyes; her ears would never take on Medea's elfin feature and her eyes…her eyes would never be Medea's purple. No, they would always be Tokiomi Tohsaka's blue, for he remained her father, as the blood adoption ritual had only replaced one of Sakura's parents. And that would work to her advantage. Medea would always be Medea, and she would use those sapphire eyes to goad her daughter's hatred and resentment against her former family into an iron core of power.

Caster had yet to decide whether or not to spare or to annihilate the Tohsaka and the Matou Clans now that she had ample energy to actualize her more powerful mysteries, but had decided to defer the decision…for now. For one thing, those families probably had a Master of their own each, and she would not risk combat. Not now…if only for Sakura's sake. And sparing them might actually be useful too; once Sakura was powerful and knowledgeable enough she could take them down on her own, and prove herself as Colchis' legacy.

After all, while there certainly were magi and beings who could pose a threat to her even in this time and age (mathematics alone demanded that a few magi and beings possess mysteries comparable to her own), from what she'd gathered the two clans in the city were not among those fearsome few. They were of no threat, not on their own. And in any case, what was the saying?

_Revenge is a dish best served cold…_

* * *

"Amazing…" Sakura said, holding onto her mother tightly as they flew high over the city, before finally alighting atop a skyscraper. Sakura immediately ran to the edge, and cheerfully watched as the Sun set over the horizon, staining the sky beautifully with colours of red and pearl, and turning the sea into molten gold.

"Sakura…" Medea called out while sinking to her knees and holding out her arms. "…fly to mommy."

Nodding, the girl immediately attempted to silently cast the flight spell her mother had taught her, and actually succeeded in shakily rising above the ground for a few moments before the spell collapsed. "Don't be afraid, Sakura." Medea encouraged her. "Don't fight it. Let the Divine Words flow through you. It's a part of you, your rightful legacy as my daughter. Now, fly to mommy."

Taking a deep breath and adopting a determined expression that made the five year old look even cuter than she already was, she cast the spell again…and this time rose into the air and stayed there without any difficulties. Her expression shifting to one of triumph, the girl happily flew like a bullet into her mother's arms. "Mommy I did it!" she cheered. "I flew!"

"I saw it Sakura." Medea said, embracing her and lifting her with her as she rose to her feet. Looking up at the evening sky, she pointed at the evening star with her finger. "Can you see, dearest? That is the star of the morning and the evening, the most beautiful of them all, symbolizing the light that delivers change. And one day my dear, you will be that light. Yours will be the power to change the world."

"…really?" Sakura asked in disbelief, looking at her mother who gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"Yes…so believe in yourself. Don't stop believing in yourself, no matter what. So long as you believe in yourself, then you can perform the impossible." Medea told her, and Sakura turned from her mother's face and up to heavens, reaching up with a hand as if to grasp the very stars themselves. "_Yes Sakura…you will be the light that will change the world. My light…_"

* * *

"It's begun…?" Sakura asked her mother, standing beside Medea as they stood in the heart of her temple amidst mighty Greek pillars. The temple was similar in scale to a reality marble, located in 'another world' created through incredibly precise Thaumaturgy and vast amounts of prana over an entire year. Sakura knew the cost…but she didn't care. Not anymore…if it meant being with her mother for as long as possible, so be it. And in any case it wasn't like the other magi wouldn't do anything monstrous on their own. If they were monsters, then she could be one as well.

"…yes." Medea replied, lowering her hood and smiling down at her. Sinking to her knees, she fondly stroked Sakura's face. Sakura's hair was almost entirely blue by now, and her physical features were undoubtedly Medea's own. She was her daughter, and no one else's. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I promise you I won't die, no matter what it takes."

Sakura tilted her head into her mother's hand, and then nodded in determination as well, the six year old girl's expression matching the fire in her eyes. "Then I'll believe in myself as well. I'll become the light you wanted me to become, mommy!"

Medea looked surprised for a moment before laughing at her daughter's proclamation. Apparently she still remembered what she told her about the morning and evening star all those months ago. That was good; she was ambitious, and that determination would help her achieve her goals. "Then let's go Sakura…" Medea said theatrically, her observation magic manifesting a glowing sphere that showed the other Servants and Masters. "…let us go and believe in miracles."

* * *

A/N

Sakura has Divine Words. No, it's not impossible for her anymore, since with the blood adoption she is now conceptually a girl from the Age of Gods through her mother, Medea. Don't get me wrong though, blood adoption is a brutal ritual, and I cannot stress how painful it was to Sakura, Aoi, and Medea (though Aoi had it worst). It's not perfect either since Sakura had to take special infusions for the rest of the year.

Of course, while this would make Sakura a 'magus infinitely close to a magician' once her training is complete, it would also make her ineligible for inheriting any of the Five Sorceries, since they are 'modern' developments completely alien to her magic, which is a relic of the Age of Gods. But it will make her enormously powerful, and she would easily be among the top ten magi of her generation, below Lorelei but definitely above Kayneth, Waver, Rin, and Luviagelita. Not sure about canon Sakura though…

Note that I did not make Medea completely good here – yes, she loves Sakura and will teach her everything she knows, but that doesn't mean that she's no longer the treacherous elf we all know and love. Much like Mind of Steel Shiro is Kiritsugu 2.0, Sakura will eventually become Medea Mk. 2.

And finally…the waitress – it's Neco-Arc Destiny. She sounds like Medea because, well, they have the same voice actress.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 3

_Six Months Ago_

_A girl with blue and black hair sat on her futon in her room, and opened a metal case containing several vials filled with fluid of varying colours. Placing a few drops from each vial in a small glass goblet, the little girl drank her medicine, grimacing at the taste and then at the unpleasant sensation as though her flesh had turned to clay for several moments._

"_Sakura…?" the girl's mother said, poking her head through the open door. "Are you ready?"_

_Nodding, Sakura made sure each vial was properly sealed before closing and concealing their case. Standing up and smoothing her dress, she ran up to her mother who took her hand. "Let's go Sakura." Medea said._

"…_okay."_

_Mother and daughter made their way to the former's temple in its impenetrable (to others) alternate space. Built in the style of an ancient Greek city, most of the buildings had yet to be built, and the air was heavy with unused prana. However the theatre complex – from where Medea conducted her prana-collection activities and intended to conduct the Holy Grail War – was complete, as were the temples of the gods. Not all of the gods had temples though; Aphrodite among others was not honoured here, hated and detested by the mistress of the city for her key role in Jason's treachery and deceit._

_It was to the temple of the one goddess that had supported Medea through her exile and betrayal that she took her daughter to. For the Servant of the Spell it seemed fitting that her daughter would pay her respects to one goddess who would undoubtedly sympathize with her plight at being thrown away like garbage by her own family. Ascending the steps that led up to the temple doors, walking past mighty pillars of stone, the interior space lit by burning torches, until mother and daughter finally stood before the imposing visage of the Queen of Olympus: Hera._

"_The Age of Gods ended long ago…" Medea said sadly. "…the gods sleep now, both the good and the bad, and most of their power has gone. But some shadow of their power still exists, and may yet respond to the prayers of the faithful. My child, we stand before Hera, goddess of marriage, the home, and family. For those such as us, only she would stand by our side against our enemies."_

_Bowing before the stone image, Medea took a handful of incense from a nearby container and cast it into a bronze brazier filled with coals and sending strong-smelling clouds of smoke up into the air. Unhooding herself, Medea walked to the side, followed by her daughter's eyes. The magus returned holding a bird in her hands, which she placed on the altar before drawing a silver sacrificial knife…and without a hint of remorse and sympathy for the sacrificed animal, cut its heart out, which she reverently placed on the brazier, where it blackened and sizzled._

_Sakura looked and felt horrified for an instant, but she immediately hardened her heart. She had read the texts given to her by her mother, and she knew the power of the gods. And power demanded sacrifice. Hera had protected her mother in the past, and had supported her. Perhaps if she offered her own sacrifice the Queen of Olympus would also watch over her?_

_Taking a step forward, the girl also took a handful of incense and cast it on the brazier before bowing before the ancient goddess. Medea made to move as though to obtain a fresh sacrifice, but paused upon seeing her daughter reach up and untie a red ribbon which had been tied around a lock of hair on her head. Sakura held the ribbon in her hand and gazed down upon it, lost in memories of times past. And then the memories shifted, of her birth-mother and sister's quiet acquiescence to her father's decision, of that nightmarish room filled with vile abominations…eyes and face hard with hatred, Sakura clenched her fist and cast the ribbon – her last link to the Tohsaka Clan – onto the coals. The crimson ribbon burned, the coals burning red-hot as the flames of the brazier blazed._

_Medea smiled as she felt the air within the temple shift. Sakura' sacrifice had been accepted, and an ancient power stirred in its slumber. Even dead gods can dream after all…_

* * *

_Aoi Tohsaka dreamed in her sleep as she lay beside her husband in her bed. She dreamed of the past, of happy times when her family was still with her. Rin and Sakura…she remembered watching over them as they played in the park, of teaching them everyday things, things that a mother would teach her children. She wished she didn't have to give her daughter away, but what could she do? She couldn't very well say no to her husband could she? It was for the best after all, so that Sakura could fulfil her potential as a magus. That's right, her husband knew best after all, and as a good wife all she had to do was take care of her daughter and the house…_

…_Aoi's slumbering thoughts came to a halt as the dream world shattered like glass, leaving nothing but darkness behind. In an instant, the dream had turned into a nightmare, Aoi stumbling as she attempted to run across nothingness itself, trying to find a way out, a way to awaken. And then, she felt it. She felt something behind her, something so old and powerful that she felt like curling up on the ground until it left, hoping that it would leave her alone. But it wouldn't…it had found her, and now it compelled her to turn and acknowledge it, willingly or not. Aoi slowly turned, her face contorted in terror at the inhuman will imposing itself on her despite her best efforts to resist…_

…_and came face to face with a pair of glowing golden eyes looking down on her coldly. "I've found you." A voice spoke in the darkness, the notes filled with satisfaction and hatred._

_Aoi Tohsaka woke up screaming._

* * *

_The Present Day_

Caster sat on a stool on the stage in the theatre, holding a glowing sphere of magic in her hands. Sakura stood beside her, also looking into the sphere, dressed in a Greek-style dress of the purest white that reached to her knees, edged in gold along the hem, sleeves, and the neckline, belted around the waist by a leather belt with a silver buckle. Mother and daughter watched Lancer and Sabre fight each other along the docks of the city, gold and red spears flashing against an invisible blade.

"Elemental magecraft…" Medea concluded out loud, her daughter listening as she explained the mechanics behind Sabre's Noble Phantasm. "…densely packed wind surrounds her true sword, which while reducing its overall power, also protects it from recognition all the while retaining a formidable degree of offensive power. It's not a bad piece of magecraft to be honest."

"But you saw right through it in an instant." Sakura pointed out, and Medea smiled at her.

"It certainly is quite an achievement, but it's nothing compared to the mysteries of my time." Medea scoffed. "After seeing it for so long, it was quite easy for me to see right through it."

"I wonder…" Sakura pondered out loud, and Medea looked at her from the corner of an eye.

"…yes, go on."

"It's all densely-packed wind, so I wonder if she could release it at will. That might change things if used properly." Sakura said softly, as though afraid of getting it wrong and disappointing her mother.

"No, you're right. And don't be afraid to voice your thoughts." Medea said, patting her on the head. "If you're right then very good; if you're wrong then I'll correct your mistake while showing how it's meant to be done. That's how one learns, understand?"

"…yes."

"Anyway, you're probably right. She probably has the ability to release all that wind to shift the odds in her favour, but I would think she could only do so once per battle, at least without actually exposing her sword."

Medea and Sakura continued to watch the battle, Medea raising an eyebrow as Sabre used prana burst to avoid getting beheaded by Lancer while simultaneously striking a glancing blow against her opponent. "So what do you think, Sakura?" she asked. "Who should be mommy's Servant?"

"Lancer and Sabre are both strong but…they're knights, aren't they?"

Medea nodded and replied "Certainly as knights they would have strong magic resistance, but I am very confident that my Rule Breaker could transfer command rights to me. The problem is that neither of them would submit to me easily. As you say dearest, they are knights, and they are probably loyal to their Masters. I would think I might have to use two command spells to make them submit…command spells that are very difficult even for one such as I to replace."

"Then let's keep looking." Sakura suggested and Medea nodded in agreement.

"Yes, let's…" she was saying when a bolt of lightning struck the ground between the two Servants, forcing them to back away.

"What…!"

* * *

A massive, ox-drawn chariot landed with a thunderous crash in between the Knights of the Lance and the Sword, driven by the equally massive man holding the reins. "Lay down your arms!" Rider thundered. "The King has arrived!" Stunned, the two other Servants fell back into defensive stances, curious despite themselves at what the newcomer wanted to say. "I am Iskandar the King of Conquerors!"

"W-what the hell are you doing, Rider?" Waver demanded, tugging at the giant's arm only to be sent tumbling to the floor of the chariot with a single flick to the forehead.

"Fate has brought us all together to fight for the Grail…" Rider continued to proclaim as though he hadn't been interrupted. "…but first, I must ask you all one thing: what say you to yielding the Grail to me and joining my army? If you do so, then I shall acknowledge you as trusted friends and allies, and together share in the joy of conquering the world!"

"Is that it?" Lancer said after a moment of stunned disbelief. "You interrupted our duel for such nonsense? I have the utmost respect for you, King of Conquerors, but I am already sworn to the service of another, and it is to him and him alone that I can yield the Grail to. Indeed, I do not believe any who have accepted the call of the Grail would choose to surrender it to another, on their pride as Heroic Spirits."

"Furthermore…" Sabre interjected. "…I am the rightful King of Britain. As such I cannot merely be reduced to a retainer of another. For Britain's sake, it cannot be, nor shall I surrender the Grail to you."

"The King of Britain…? Rider echoed in surprise. "Well now, I never expected the King of Knights to be a young girl."

"In that case won't you care to test what this young girl is capable of, King of Conquerors?" Sabre growled angrily, displeased at being called a young girl.

Rider grimaced, and rubbed his fingers together. "I'm willing to negotiate…"

"Denied…!" Lancer and Sabre shouted together.

Sighing in exasperation, Rider scratched his head as Waver finally got up only to swallow in terror at the sight of two displeased Servants before them. "I hate it when negotiations fail." Rider said unhappily, as Waver sank back down and cowered on the floor.

* * *

"Rider is…interesting to say the least." Medea noted. "While the King of Conquerors would be quite useful, somehow I get the feeling that he'd be even more troublesome to keep under control than Sabre or Lancer."

"His Master's cute though…" Sakura observed, and her mother snorted in response.

"He's a wimp." She said dismissively, and Sakura giggled. Unknown to her, Medea was already thinking of ways to deal with Waver if he even so much as looked at Sakura the wrong way. "_Flaying was always popular…_" Medea thought to herself. "_...though I personally prefer boiling…hmmm…oil or water?_"

"Hmmm…?" she broke off as a new Servant – Archer – appeared on the battlefield. The two watched as he proceeded to verbally lash out against the other Servants present, all of which boiled down to two words: mongrels and fakes. Archer's verbal tirade concluded with his deciding to simply kill everyone present, golden portals opening around him from which swords immediately pointed themselves at the other Servants.

It was at this point that Berserker appeared, and the golden Servant immediately turned his ire on the insane one…simply for looking at him. "_…talk about a narcissist._" Medea thought to herself, rolling her eyes in the process…the same eyes widening as Berserker grabbed one of the swords sent flying at him by Archer and using it to destroy the second one.

Eyes narrowing, Medea re-examined Berserker's ability even as Archer fired off several more blades against him. "What can you see, Sakura?" she asked.

"Berserker…he can take control of any weapon used against him by channelling his prana into it." The girl replied. "It's similar to reinforcement but…"

"Well done…" Medea congratulated her. "…I agree it's similar to reinforcement, but I surmise that he also overwrites the particular weapon's concept of ownership to actually use it. Therefore, the limitation of his ability should be that he cannot take control of weapons and/or Noble Phantasms that are truly emblematic of a particular Heroic Spirit."

Continuing to watch, they saw Berserker throw his stolen sword back at Archer and cut down the lamppost he was standing on. To their amusement, Archer flew into a rage at being made to share the ground with those he called mongrels, summoning yet more weapons to fire against Berserker.

* * *

"To make a King turn his back on his opponents…" Archer spat out of nowhere. "…you have nerve Tokiomi."

* * *

Amusement immediately melted away, Medea's eyes going flat and Sakura's fists clenching with hatred. "Well, I guess we now know who father's Servant is." Sakura said, all but spitting at the word 'father'.

"I must admit getting tempted to try and take Archer from him…" Medea said. "…but it would be too dangerous."

"Archer's probably uncontrollable too." Sakura agreed. "And he sounds like a big bully."

Medea actually laughed at that, and saw Berserker immediately assault Sabre the moment Archer had left. "Berserker's too dangerous to try and get close to. I guess Assassin it is then." She said, drawing her Noble Phantasm as the image shifted to a feminine figure in black with a skull mask watching the battle from a safe distance. "Do you have your seeing stone, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded, holding up a crystal ball for her mother to see. It was a mystic code Medea had given her, something to practice her viewing with until she was old enough to use a magic viewing sphere like her mother. "Good…" Medea said, patting her on the head. "…now watch as mommy shows you how a real magus fights."

* * *

"What are you doing Lancer?" Kayneth's voice echoed across the battlefield. "This is your chance to destroy Sabre."

"I have every intention to do so my lord." Lancer agreed, but did not attack at that moment, something Sabre was thankful for, considering she was hard-pressed by Berserker already. "I swear to do this on my honour as Diarmuid Ua Duibhne…however, to do so in such dishonourable fashion…my lord, I beg you! Please my lord, allow me to strike down that rabid dog first!"

"Lancer…" Kayneth replied, irritation obvious in his voice. "…by the power of the command spell…"

He never finished saying it, for at that moment another voice whispered "…**Κεραινο.**" An instant later, a lightning bolt struck and levelled the building Kayneth was apparently hiding in.

"Master…!" Lancer shouted in alarm even as both Sabre and Berserker jumped away from each other at such display of sorcerous might. "Caster you…!" Lancer began to shout at the sky, only to be interrupted by Caster and her sultry, mocking voice.

"Come now Lancer…" she taunted him, everyone looking up at her as she flew high over them, holding her staff in one hand. "…shouldn't you be thanking me? After all, I just spared your honour from being defiled, seeing as your Master was just about to use a command spell to force you to attack Sabre against your will."

"You killed my Master!" Lancer roared. "You expect me to thank you?"

Caster rolled her eyes, and said "Why yes, I do in fact expect you to thank me, considering as that man was a worthless and arrogant piece of shit who deserves to be drowned in his own excrement. But fear not; I must admit I underestimated him. It appears that he has somehow managed to avoid getting killed, and is even now fleeing to his stronghold. Why don't you go running to his side then? Or should I tell everyone where they are going?"

Snarling in anger, Lancer collected himself. "I won't forget this, Caster."

"I'm sure you won't." she replied flippantly, and the Servant vanished. Caster now turned her attention to Berserker, who was silently glowering up at her. "While I've no problem with you simply looking at me, I've no intention of fighting you. Or for that matter, letting you get a chance to attack. I apologize, but it seems I must make use of…what's the word…ah yes! Deterrence…"

With a smile, Caster gestured with her staff…and a barrage of purple beams blasted down from an array of magic circles that instantly appeared around her, a ground-scouring bombardment that left nothing standing behind it and covering the ground with smoking craters as the Servant of the Spell carved a line of destruction across the surrounding area. "Huh…he escaped…" Caster noted as she ceased her bombardment and floated down to stand on a lamppost. "…his Master ran off on his own. Oh well…"

Waver had collapsed on the chariot's floor and had wet his pants, much to Rider's exasperation. "Hey now, it's just a little magic. Did you really have to wet yourself?"

"What the hell are you saying?" Waver squeaked out. "Each of those beams was on the level of A-Rank High Thaumaturgy! And she fired out so many of them…in an instant!"

"Yes…and?" Rider replied, apparently unperturbed by that information. "I dare say that's one hell of an incentive to get her on our side. So what do you say Caster? Won't you join me?"

"I don't see why not?" she replied, causing everyone else's mouths to fall open in shock. Caster, who apparently had the power to scour the very Earth clean of her enemies, was willing to surrender her claim to the Grail to another. "I daresay it's a matter worth serious thought. You did say you were willing to negotiate, didn't you?"

Rider laughed uproariously, before saying "Why yes, I did say that."

"We should talk over this matter someplace else." Caster pointed out. "It is getting rather late, and my daughter needs to be put to bed. And it would be easier to discuss things cordially with calmer spirits wouldn't you agree?"

"…daughter…?" Irisviel echoed in surprise.

"That's true." Rider agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Well then, I suppose we should call it a night."

"Agreed…" Sabre said, looking at Caster with a neutral expression. "…Servant Caster, while I too share your distaste for Lancer's Master, I must disagree with the means by which you forced Lancer to withdraw. Nonetheless, I thank you for sparing his honour."

Caster nodded in acknowledgement, and then vanished. Elsewhere, Assassin silently watched as the other Servants exchanged pleasantries before leaving, the King of Conquerors riding off into the sky in his chariot. The Servant of Assassination turned, intending to return to her Master's side…and came face to face with a smirking Caster, who stabbed her with a jagged, iridescent-bladed dagger.

"…Rule Breaker."

* * *

A/N

Kudos to anyone who can correctly guess whose eyes Aoi saw.

No, Waver was not exaggerating regarding Caster's trademark spell: Rain of Light. According to the Type-Moon wiki, each beam is an A-Rank High Thaumaturgy spell with enough power to kill most Servants with one hit, and has an output equal to three times Shiro's maximum prana output. Furthermore, for a modern magus to cast one of those beams would require a magic circle, a ten-line aria, and one minute casting (thirty seconds with rapid casting). Thanks to Divine Words, all Caster needs to cast a full volley (which she can rapid-fire) is a mere gesture (Sakura has Divine Words too, so think about it).


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 4

To her credit, Assassin proved as fast as her class was reputed to be, slashing at Caster with a broad-bladed dagger. The Servant of the Spell sprang back, avoiding serious injury but the blade managed to cut through cloth and flesh and sent blood spraying through the air; landing lightly on her feet atop a nearby skyscraper, magic surged unseen through the air, sealing the wound without leaving a scar and fixing Caster's clothing without any indication that she had had been injured to even begin with.

Still smiling, Caster tilted her head to the side and said "That wasn't very polite was it now? Then again, I did strike the first blow, didn't I?"

Assassin didn't respond, merely landing a good distance before Caster and standing silently in a relaxed fashion. The two women gazed at each other impassively for several moments, and then the surrounding air rippled, and more Assassins appeared around them much to Caster's surprise.

"That's…an interesting ability to say the least." She commented.

"What did you do?" Assassin asked quietly, and Caster chuckled with amusement.

"I cancelled out your contract with your previous Master." She replied. "Such is the power of my Noble Phantasm: Rule Breaker. It is the ultimate anti-magic weapon that destroys any and all magecraft that it cuts. While it isn't a match for other Noble Phantasms on its own, if used properly it can be quite useful."

"Agreed…" Assassin said with respect evident in her voice. "…a single poisoned blade hidden in the shadows can be even deadlier than a thousand blades shining in the Sun if wielded by the right hands."

"I'm glad to see that you approve. Furthermore, I have not only broken the contract between you and your former Master, but I have also bound you – and your incarnations now that I know about them – to myself as your Master. Should I expect any difficulties from this?"

"…not at all." Assassin assured her new Master, sinking to one knee along with the other Assassins present. "Treachery is an innate part of life. Only a fool would think otherwise, and believe that nothing lurks around corners and within shadows. What matters is that one is capable of going beyond the deceit and betrayal, surviving them and twisting them to one's will and advantage. We of all people know that best. And we are fortunate in having a Master who understands this truth. You are certainly much better than our previous one."

"Well spoken…" Caster responded with approval. "…then you accept the contract with me?"

"…wield us as you would a weapon, my lady." Assassin answered with a bowed head, and a woman's laugh echoed across the night sky in response.

* * *

Archer had intended to verbally peel a strip off of Tokiomi's back for daring to use a command spell on him the moment he returned to Tohsaka Manor, but ultimately decided to wait until the battle had finished and Kirei could finish reporting all the tedious little details of those mongrels brawling amongst themselves. That way, he could taunt the dull little magus about all of his mistakes and failures. It was simply more fun that way, although a part of him told him to just get on with the matter and put the little bastard in his place. He was, however, happily right.

It was such a shame that Tokiomi never lost control of his emotions, although his eyes did widen in shock at Kirei's reporting of the loss of his Servant to his master. The Servant wasn't lost to battle though. Assassin had literally been taken away from the man by the Servant of the Spell – Caster. Ah, Caster…normally Archer had a very low opinion of magi, but compared to Tokiomi and his ilk, the magi of ancient times had a much higher place in the eyes of the King. They at least had the strength and purity to live in his garden. Modern magi…if they could survive more than an hour in the Age of Gods, Archer would reward them with their weight in gold. As if that could ever happen…

"What a failure, Tokiomi." Archer taunted with his usual smirk, which grew fractionally wider as he sensed Tokiomi barely holding back a biting retort. Oh, how he wished the little shit would say it out loud. It would increase his standing in the King's eyes by the smallest of increments, if only for a brief moment before the King's justice caught up with him and tore him apart for his impudence. "So you lost your pet killers to another magus? Well it is to be expected, Caster is from the Age of Gods after all…though it could have been prevented if you and your pet priest here had been a little more competent."

To his credit Kirei did not rise to Archer's provocation, raising his status in the King's eyes by a minute degree. "It is of no concern." Tokiomi said dismissively and with a wave of a hand. "Assassin is of little meaning compared to the other Servants in this war and apart from Rider's Master Assassin will find it difficult to come close to myself and the others."

"Your little concerns have proven themselves to be anything but, Tokiomi." Archer sneered. "Your youngest which you considered and threw away as trash shines bright does she not? I would not be so dismissive of her if I were you, magus. If anything you should respect and consider her as an equal at the very least. If this latest stratagem of hers is any indication, then Assassin would be a deadly tool in her and her Servant's hands. A poisonous tool that just might end up being buried all the way to the hilt in your back, and if my estimation of her and her abilities is correct, the last thing you will hear in this world is her cold and uncaring laughter."

Having said this, Archer stalked off, leaving Kirei and Tokiomi alone together. It didn't show on his face, but Tokiomi was concerned by Archer's latest proclamations. Despite appearances, Tokiomi knew that Archer was right. While he did not believe that Sakura was in true command of Caster, and that the Servant of the Spell was directing her role in the war as she pleased, that did not mean that Sakura had no role in the war. She was still a Master after all, and probably did resent and hate her old family for what had happened to her. Resentment that could see the Tohsaka properties reduced to ashes with a one command and one command spell from an angry and hateful child.

Tokiomi sighed to himself, displeased at this turn of events. Perhaps he should have educated Sakura in the mental set of a magus, as without that education she apparently could not see that he was in the right. Yes the Matou training was brutal, but the way of the magus was a hard one, regardless of which school of magic one followed. It was harsh, but the rewards were great. Thankfully Rin understood that, but it would seem Sakura did not, and it was his own fault for not teaching her that key set of mind.

"Caster is a magus…" Tokiomi mused out loud. "…therefore she has the right to be a Master and to participate in this war in her own name. Therefore having Risei censure her for this would be impossible."

"It is as you say." Kirei confirmed with a bow.

"Have you located Caster's stronghold?"

"I was narrowing it down, but my search is thus far incomplete." Kirei answered with an apologetic bow. "Furthermore with Assassin lost to us, our options and search capability has been severely crippled, what with Caster's ability to hide her territory far superior to that of any magus of the modern era."

"And even attempting to send Archer to search would be a meaningless act." Tokiomi said with another sigh, though that was an understatement. Such an act would most likely result with an ancient sword or two forcibly shoved down his throat. "Continue searching with what resources you have on your own."

"…as you wish."

Alone once more, Tokiomi's thoughts once again turned to his youngest daughter. She had to be found. He would reclaim her, and then put her on the right path once more. Caster might be teaching her some advanced magecraft from the Age of Gods, but that would only benefit her. Tokiomi's thought encompassed both of his daughters, and regardless of how much others condemned him for being inhuman, he would return Sakura to her rightful place as the heiress of the Matou Clan. She would contend with Rin in the future, and be remembered as the great rival of one who reached the Root and brought honour to the Tohsaka Clan.

What greater honour could there be other than that for a scion of a magus bloodline? Leaving her with Caster would be no good. If she learned too much of the secrets of the Age of Gods, she would destroy Rin and end the Tohsaka legacy. If she remained a Master, then either she would be killed by Emiya or taken in by Archibald or Velvet and sent to London to become a wife for one of the other families – in other words leaving her as just another name. Kariya was a weakling who probably couldn't think straight by this point, with a nigh-uncontrollable Servant. Even if he didn't kill her by accident, he would probably just let her go. No, he had to reclaim her and then return her to Zouken himself. That was the best path for all concerned, he was sure of it.

* * *

"How many alternate incarnations of yourself are you capable of manifesting?" Medea asked Assassin as she returned to her place on the stage in her city's theatre.

"I am capable of manifesting up to thirty-two alternate selves…" Assassin answered. "…however, one of those has already been slain so including myself there are thirty-one possible incarnations."

"I see…" Medea said, nodding thoughtfully. "…I assume that the one who was slain was slain in that ploy of Tokiomi's?"

"You assume correctly my lady."

"Humph…" Sakura snorted as she walked up to her mother's side. "…father is a fool if he thinks that his theatrics pull the wool over anyone's eyes."

"Hush dearest…" Medea told her, simultaneously pulling the girl into her lap. "…while I agree with your sentiment about the man, there is no point in pointlessly insulting him here and now. Assassin…" she said, turning back to the Servant. "…I will need you to provide me with a team of your incarnations to guard the entrance to the temple in normal space. As you know, the entire mountain is protected by a powerful bounded field that weakens hostile beings that enter via other ways than the temple stairs and gate."

"This weak-point is the result of the ley-lines' requirement of right of way through the territory, as well as the monks' belief in welcoming any who approach from the front whether they are friend or foe. I have already supplemented the defences by setting up an anti-sorcery bounded field that cancels out any magical attacks made from outside the territory. For a magus to execute offensive actions in my domain would require they enter the territory, and therefore confront us on our terms."

"However I am still limited by the ley-lines' right of way and as such the weak-point remains. I intend to correct this now that I am able to. Do you have any suggestions or insights?"

"Yes my lady." Assassin replied. "Each time I manifest separate incarnations of myself, I further reduce my own stats proportionate to the number of incarnations present. As such…"

"I understand." Medea interrupted. "If that is the case then I will provide you with mystic codes to compensate for your reduced individual combat aptitude."

"Mystic codes...but against Servants those are…"

"Fear not Assassin…" Medea assured her. "…the difference between my mystic codes and those of modern magi are as great as the distance between Heaven and Earth. Even the great Sabre herself will be hard-pressed by those wielding my creations."

"Very well; have you any further orders?"

"Continue surveillance on the other Masters. And prepare to assassinate your former Master on my command. From what I've gathered, he used to be an Executor for the Holy Church, a monster hunter of formidable skill. He will need to be eliminated before he can pose a threat to me or my daughter. I trust there will be no difficulties with this matter?"

"None I assure you, my lady." Assassin answered with a deep bow. "You are our Master now, and we will obey your command to the letter. The past is the past, and that is where it belongs."

"Good…" Medea said with a nod. "…finally my daughter will have to attend mundane education in the daytime. Unnecessary in my opinion, but appearances must be met, and forms must be followed. She will require a bodyguard, though they must remain unseen until necessary all the while providing the needed protection."

"As you wish; I will provide the required formations by first light tomorrow."

Nodding, Medea stood up from her stool while holding Sakura in her arms. Assassin bowed deeply as they passed, much to the magus' satisfaction. "Do I really have to go to school mommy?" Sakura asked unhappily and Medea smiled at her apologetically.

"Unfortunately you must dearest, no matter how much you or I don't want to. We all have to do what we need to do, and one of those is to make appearances meet. Appearances can be deceiving and useless at times, but they can be equally useful too."

Sakura looked unhappy but didn't argue further realizing that it would be useless to try and avoid the issue. "Will I get to make those mystic…um…" she asked, changing the subject.

"…mystic codes…" Medea supplied helpfully, and the girl nodded thankfully.

"Will I also learn how to make mystic codes too?"

"Of course you will." Medea assured her as they continued their way out of the city and back into the normal world. "You are my child, and I intend for you to inherit everything I have. My knowledge, my power, my craft; it will all be yours. It is your birth-right. And with it, one day you will be the envy of your generation. Your work and power shall be peerless."

* * *

"Caster was a woman…?" Kayneth echoed as he sat in his hotel suite. "Are you certain?"

"Yes my lord." Lancer answered on bended knee. "The voice might have been altered, but there is no deceiving my eyes. The body wrapped in black and purple that flew high above the battlefield, was that of a woman's."

"Hmmm…" Kayneth mused, sitting back on his chair while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "…a female magus with the ability to call down lightning strikes powerful enough to level skyscrapers with one hit and can scour the Earth clean with High Thaumaturgy; who in the world could she be?"

Lord Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi had always been considered a prodigy, and ever since he had begun his career as a magus there had not been any challenge that he had failed to overcome, or any enemy he had failed to defeat. But vain and arrogant and full of a sense of self-entitlement he may be, he was no fool. Just because Caster was a woman or a Servant didn't mean he would dismiss them out of hand without further consideration – if anything being a magus immediately put Caster far above the other classes in Kayneth's eyes, and therefore worthy of more respect than even the vaunted Sabre-class. As for being a woman…anyone who knew of or had met Lorelei Barthomeloi would never look down on women ever again.

"If I may my lord…?" Lancer asked respectfully, and a moment later Kayneth assented to his request with a nod.

"When Caster cast the lighting…" Lancer paused at the brief flare of anger that flashed across Kayneth's face at the mention of the reason behind his injuries (now healed) and forced retreat, but a moment later continued after another nod from his Master. "…for all its power I only ever heard a single, unintelligible word."

"…Divine Words…" Sola interjected, entering the room after stowing away the supplies for healing magecraft that Kayneth needed to patch the resulting injuries from Caster's strike. "…it's an impossibly rare Sorcery Trait for the modern era, about as rare as being able to speak the Unified Language, but common to all magi of the Age of Gods. It grants the ability to actualize mysteries – no matter how complex – with but a single word or gesture; a relic of a time when words and gestures had power on their own unlike in this modern age of ours. From this we can surmise that Caster is a magus from the Age of Gods."

"That rules out Morgana le Fay then…" Kayneth said. "…as she was born well after the Age of Gods ended. Hmmm…off of the top of my head I can think of two other possibilities: Circe and Medea. Sola, what do you think?"

"Those are two possibilities." She agreed. "But I believe Caster's identity merits further investigation. Queen Semiramis of Assyria was a skilled magus in her own right, as were many other queens and priestesses of that time and age. It would not do for us to make a wrong assumption and pay the price for our overconfidence with our lives."

"Very true my dear…" Kayneth concurred.

* * *

"Have you finished cleaning yourself up?" Rider asked good-naturedly and with just a small amount of mockery as Waver came back from the toilet.

"That was not funny!" Waver protested angrily, and Rider laughed uproariously at the memory of Waver wetting his pants in terror.

"No I suppose not." The King of Conquerors conceded, before adopting a thoughtful pose. "That Caster…I think I may know who she is."

"…you do?" Waver said in surprise. Then again, this was Alexander the Great after all, the man who had conquered the world and studied under the great philosophers of his time and age. If anyone could figure out Caster's true identity among the Servants, it would be him.

"I have…well actually I've narrowed down the possibilities to a select few." Rider said, sitting back on the couch with his arms crossed. "The other Servants probably heard it too, but unless they could speak ancient Greek they would probably have dismissed it as magical gibberish."

"Wait, the incantation for her spells was in Greek?"

"She didn't cast anything for that light show of hers, but I definitely heard her say a word just before bringing down the hammer on that melon or something Master of Lancer's."

"It's Lord El-Melloi…" Waver corrected Rider absent-mindedly. "…so we've identified Caster as someone from Greece. Who're the possibilities?"

"Hmmm…let's see; Cassandra the Prophetess of Troy for one, but I doubt it. She's not that powerful from what I remember in the Iliad; which leaves the other two, both of which would be bad enemies for anyone who gets on their bad side."

"And they are?" Waver pressed with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Well for starters we have Circe…" Rider said, causing Waver to unconsciously whimper at the thought of the ancient magus with a penchant for turning men into pigs. "…and we have Medea."

Rider then grinned, much to Waver's horror. "Medea…I'd love to meet her. Quite a tragic character and one I can't blame for doing what she did."

"Huh…?" Waver said in horror, tugging at Rider's arm. "What are you saying Rider? This is Medea we're talking about, Medea! As in the Witch of Betrayal…!"

"Idiot…!" Rider snapped out, flicking Waver on the forehead and sending him tumbling back. "Don't judge books by their covers. You still have much to learn if you're still thinking like that. We should meet with Medea and see things from her point of view before making judgments!"

Having said this much, Rider picked up the video game controller and began to play, while Waver whimpered to himself (again) at the thought of facing Medea. Just as he began to get up, he felt another feeling of wetness in his pants. "_Not again…!_"

* * *

A/N

Medea's mystic codes aren't touched on in the VN or in the TV series, but according to her data her mystic codes are incredibly potent compared to those of modern magi, probably on par with those used and created by the sorcerers of the modern era (whose magic her magecraft is infinitely close to at any rate).

The only time we see her mystic codes in action are in Carnival Phantasm, but even if the series isn't to be taken seriously, that lucky charm she gave to Kuzuki was rather…potent. I can't wait to show off Medea's mystic codes as used by the Assassins. This is going to be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 5

Sighing, Sakura stood up from behind her desk and stretched once classes for Class 1-C of the local Municipal Elementary School had finished for the morning. The lessons weren't as interesting as learning magic from her mother was (even if she surprisingly did enjoy some of them such as math among others), but her mother had assured her it was necessary, and small part of her mind told her that the things she learned here might prove useful one day.

Surprisingly enough, Assassin had given a particularly useful thought over the matter, saying that Sakura interacting with and obtaining friends or allies from people of her generation would be a welcome experience. Mother had agreed, and Sakura remembered 'father' telling Rin to be aloof from her fellows when she had gone to school. If that was the case, defying that man's beliefs was definitely worth the effort in her book.

Sitting back down, she pulled out her bento and was about to start eating her lunch when two of her classmates walked up to her.

"Hi there…" a freckled brunette greeted her. "…I'm Kyoko Soryu. I really like your hair, Colchis-chan."

"And I'm Yui Shikigami." The second girl introduced herself too. "I like your hair too."

"T-thank you…" Sakura stammered, surprised at other people's interest in her hair, and not a little relieved that they didn't find it strange. Blue after all, wasn't exactly what one would call a normal hair colour. "It's my mother's hair."

"So your mom has the same hair?" Yui asked. "Is she really pretty?"

"Yes…" Sakura answered quickly. "…mother is the most beautiful person I know. Oh and, you can just call me Sakura."

"Then I suppose you can just call us by our first names too." Yui said, sharing a glance with Kyoko. "Wow I guess that makes us friends, doesn't it? Hey Sakura-chan, do you want to eat lunch with us?"

"…okay." Sakura replied, and the girls walked off to get their own lunches.

"So…" Kyoko began several minutes later while they eating their lunches. "…did your family move in recently?"

Sakura nodded in response as she swallowed. "Mom and I currently live at Ryuudo Temple, until things quiet down she says."

"What about your father?" Yui asked, and an uncomfortable silence followed for several moments. "Oh…sorry, I shouldn't have…"

Sakura shook her head and smiled sadly, saying "It's alright. You didn't know." As she said this, the other girls' eyes fell briefly on her bandaged right arm and the two of them felt sick, coming to the conclusion that Sakura's father had something to do with her apparently injured arm.

"Anyway…" Yui pressed, moving quickly to change the topic. "…Sakura-chan, what do you do to pass the time?"

* * *

Meanwhile at Ahnenerbe a certain…cat (?) blew out a stream of smoke from his mouth as he sat at the counter. "Once again…" Neco-Arc Chaos mused aloud. "…the course of destiny has changed. What fate will this point the world towards, I wonder?"

"Truly…" Neco-Arc Destiny agreed beside him. "…destiny should never be changed, because when it does change, the results will shake the world."

"To the ensuing chaos…" Neco-Arc Chaos said, raising his glass towards his partner.

"…and the destruction of the world…" Neco-Arc Destiny mirrored.

"…cheers." They said together, toasting their glasses.

"Um…" Neco-Arc asked. "…what are you two doing?"

At the same time another pair of women was discussing matters over lunch at another table in the same shop. One of them looked very much like an ordinary housewife…if one ignored her elfin ears and unusually-coloured hair, which hung long over her back with a pair of braided tresses hanging before her ears. The other was a dark-skinned woman with purple hair and eyes, dressed like a gym instructor and wearing a pair of golden hoops as earrings. "I must applaud you over such a simple solution to cover up my daughter's command spells." Medea was saying. "I was thinking of giving her a mystic code that would give a mental compulsion to anyone who saw them to forget about them, but I must admit there is certain elegance in simply wrapping her arm in bandages."

"I am honoured by your praise…" Assassin replied modestly, speaking in fluent Persian to avoid eavesdroppers from picking up their conversation. Medea's Persian in contrast wasn't so bad, but it was archaic and had a marked accent to it. "…sometimes the best solution is the simplest one."

"Very true…" Medea agreed.

"May I ask a question, my lady?"

"…go ahead."

"Why did you send your daughter to a public school?" Assassin asked, much to Medea's surprise. "I meant no offense, but I was under the impression that magi held themselves aloof from others, and I expected you to send her to one of the more exclusive schools in the area."

"I see…" Medea said thoughtfully, replacing her teacup back on its saucer. "…while it is certainly true that I consider myself and my daughter superior to the mundane masses, I believe that there is no real need to flaunt this superiority over the heads of the sheep. In any case, sheep can prove dangerous when provoked, and there is also the fact that by flaunting one's status over others, one may become dangerously arrogant and needlessly manipulative of others. I have no desire to see my daughter killed by one or others she needlessly antagonized, or to see her become the second coming of Jason the Argonaut."

Medea paused, and took a sip of her tea. "Furthermore, I know modern magi. They like to flaunt their supremacy over others as you said, and will undoubtedly send their children to those exclusive schools you mentioned. The two magi clans in this city – the Tohsaka and the Matou – have their eyes set on my daughter, and sending her to one of those schools could result in disaster."

Assassin nodded in agreement. "One's hubris blinds one to one's weaknesses." She stated.

"Indeed…" Medea agreed. "…their pride will lead them to believe that as a magus I will send Sakura to a place above those they consider as beneath them. The blind fools will never suspect that the one they seek is hidden among those who they see merely as cattle. But enough about that; have you anything further to report?"

"Of course…" Assassin said with an apologetic bow. "…it seems that Kiritsugu Emiya is about to make his move against the Lord El-Melloi. The exact date and means are uncertain; it would seem that the man suspects my or your surveillance of enemy activities. However I am reasonably certain that apart from the Overseer – who my former Master will probably have informed already – only Tohsaka and Kotomine are aware of my shift in allegiance."

"Excellent; the ignorance of the majority can only turn to our advantage. However what can you tell me of this Kiritsugu Emiya?"

"Not much, I'm afraid." Assassin replied apologetically. "From what my former Master and his association with Tohsaka have allowed me, Emiya also goes by the title – and reputation – of 'Magus Killer'. Further digging has only uncovered the fact that he combines magecraft with modern technology to devastating effect, although this has earned him the antipathy of his kin."

"Then they are fools." Medea sneered. "I appreciate the value of maintaining the purity of the art, but I value results even more. If the man has truly earned his reputation to be a hunter and killer of magi, then he is one to be wary of. This information is quite useful in itself; you have my thanks, Assassin."

"You honour me, my lady." Assassin said with another short bow of her head. "Unfortunately the defences of the Lord El-Melloi's stronghold were too formidable for me to infiltrate. Please accept my apologies…"

"No, there is no need to apologize." Medea told Assassin, her expression thoughtful. "If you couldn't infiltrate, then that must mean assassination is impossible. If Emiya intends to strike at the Lord El-Melloi, then he will have to do so from the front. He is Sabre's Master, isn't he?"

"It is as you say." Assassin confirmed; being the former Servant of the conniving Overseer's son had its perks. Perks which included information on the other Masters and Servants.

"Kiritsugu Emiya…to think he would use that meat puppet of a woman as a decoy and allowing him to move freely…" Medea hissed, mixed respect and wariness evident in her voice. "…he's a dangerous man. It will be interesting to see how he intends to crack open the Lord El-Melloi's stronghold, as well as how he intends to deal with Lancer. The rematch between the Knights of the Lance and the Sword will definitely prove interesting. In any case I too shall attempt to peer into the Lord El-Melloi's territory. Modern magi are generally weaklings in my opinion, but knowledge will always remain knowledge, and knowledge is power and power is absolute. I might even learn something of value."

"Furthermore, I must once again apologize but I am unable to locate Berserker's Master…"

"Damn the man…" Medea interrupted angrily. "…where the hell is he?"

Assassin blinked, then paused for a moment, and finally asked "I apologize if I seem overly forward, but can you not locate the man yourself, my lady?"

"It seems that I cannot." Medea said darkly. "He is not at the Matou Estate – although that disgusting vampire still lurks there and so I might order you to burn it down one of these days – so it would seem that he is elsewhere. Which leads to two conclusions; one, the man is hidden behind a magical fortress similar to the Lord El-Melloi's somewhere in the city, although this is very unlikely in my opinion. The second possible conclusion is that he is constantly on the move, which would render long-range detection very difficult. Mobile warfare…the man just might be a tactical genius. Which combined with Berserker's formidable abilities could prove a deadly combination."

"What do you intend to do now, my lady?"

"There is nothing we can do…for now. Our best bet is to draw him and his Servant out and pit them against one of the three knights. Either way, the victor will prove exhausted by the battle and may prove easy prey against us."

"Archer…"

"Yes, he's the exception." Medea huffed, sitting back on her chair. "If he's the one who ends up fighting Berserker, then there's no guarantee that he'll be easy prey afterwards. Even if there's also the fact that Berserker's ability may in fact just be the best counter for Archer's Noble Phantasms. But the biggest problem of all is drawing out Berserker and his Master. If the latter truly is a tactical genius, then that would be easier said than done."

Assassin was silent for a while, but finally she asked "Have you any suspicions of Archer's identity?"

"I do…" Medea conceded. "…nothing definite, but for some reason my daughter seems to think that he's the King of Heroes. Apart from the fact that he seems to own a lot of Noble Phantasms and considers himself the only real King – although the same could be said for Sabre and the British with their 'Once and Future King' nonsense – there's no concrete evidence of the fact."

"Tohsaka also considered him a King." Assassin pointed out, but Medea merely snorted dismissively.

"I am very sceptical of anything Tokiomi Tohsaka believes in." she sneered. "I will not deny that Archer is a King, seeing as he certainly acts and is armoured like one, but I will not acknowledge him as the King of Heroes without definitive proof of the fact."

"But you consider your daughter's hypothesis to be a valid possibility?"

"I do."

Assassin smiled. She didn't know how a Servant managed to acquire a daughter in the modern world, but it certainly wasn't faked. She would know of it with a glance. "You must be quite proud of her then, for being able to make such a deduction at such a young age."

"I am." Medea answered with a smirk. "In fact I think she was born in the wrong era, and this dull little world is undeserving of her."

* * *

"What do you mean she relapsed?" Tokiomi Tohsaka angrily demanded from the doctor at the city hospital. The two of them were standing outside the closed door leading into Aoi's private room, where she was resting while being accompanied by Rin. "After all the money we spent on the surgery and chemotherapy, are you saying that her cancer isn't cured?"

"Please calm yourself Mr Tohsaka." The doctor told him in a placating manner. "I understand how you feel, but getting angry about this won't change anything. We'll continue the chemotherapy for now, as there's a chance that this is only a minor relapse and we still might be able to contain and neutralize what's left of the tumours."

"_I was a fool._" The magus angrily thought to himself, clenching his fists in anger. "_I should have gone further afield in search of spiritual doctors who could handle this…disease rather than resort to mundane medicine._"

"Very well…" he said aloud. "…do what you can."

The doctor nodded and left and Tokiomi turned and looked through the door window and watched his wife and daughter play with each other. Aoi had grown thin and feeble, and while she remained beautiful, her beauty was now that of a snowflake, liable to melt and vanish in an instant.

It all started around six months ago, after one night wherein Aoi had woken up screaming from a nightmare. In hindsight he should have suspected that something had targeted his wife then and there – the name of a certain third-rate came to mind – but at the time he had believed it no more than what it appeared: a mere nightmare. But then the symptoms came; constant pain in her abdomen, difficulty eating and at times sharp pain whenever she urinated.

It was only when Aoi began to bleed even though it wasn't that time of the month that they began to suspect that something had gone terribly wrong. Naturally, Tokiomi had scoffed at the idea of going to a hospital and had summoned Kirei – a proficient spiritual doctor in his own right – to handle it. In an unpleasant surprise, Kirei revealed that while he had discovered what plaguing Aoi's body was ovarian cancer, but there was also nothing he could do about it. Tokiomi had immediately summoned other spiritual doctors to deal with the issue, but like Kirei they too were powerless against the disease, forcing Tokiomi to turn to mundane medicine for a solution. For one who had the uttermost pride in his magecraft and had held the achievements of the modern world with complete contempt, this was the ultimate humiliation.

Even more troubling was what two of the spiritual doctors had said. The two of them were among the most skilled spiritual doctors in China-Japan, and their respective schools were among the oldest in the world. Even as one who followed western-style magecraft, Tokiomi had to acknowledge their power. And they had said that Aoi's disease – and therefore the reason why it couldn't be cured by Human magecraft – was caused by a powerful curse; a curse far beyond the power of any mortal magus, and one that could only be attributed to the Authority of a Divine Spirit. In other words, Aoi had somehow offended a Divine Spirit of some kind, and a really powerful one at that. And this Divine Spirit had seen fit to punish her for it, though how Aoi had offended one such that it would curse her in such a fashion was beyond Tokiomi.

Sighing, Tokiomi opened the door and entered the room, closing it behind him. "Rin…" he said, handing her some money. "…why don't you go get yourself something to eat? Your mother and I have some things to discuss."

"Yes father." She said, taking the money and flashing Tokiomi a smile. Tokiomi actually smiled back, and he patted her on the head before she left. Left alone with his wife, Tokiomi took a seat beside her.

"The doctors…" he began, and then paused before giving a sigh and continuing. "…the doctors said that you're going to be fine."

"…really?" she replied, giving him a sad smile.

Tokiomi sighed again. "If mundane medicine won't work, then I'll just have to call in more spiritual doctors. The ones here in China-Japan are useless for us, so I'll just have to look further afield for one that can help us. India has good prospects and maybe the Americas…"

Tokiomi's voice trailed off, and Aoi just looked out the window at the setting Sun. The two sat in silence for a long time before Aoi broke the silence herself. "Hey, can you promise something?" she asked. "If I…if I don't live through this, promise me…promise me that you'll take good care of Rin for me."

"Hey, hey…" Tokiomi said in alarm, getting up from his chair. "…what are you saying? We're going to get through this, so don't…"

"Promise me...!" Aoi burst out. "I…I've already lost one daughter. I…I can't…I can't lose Rin as well."

Tokiomi couldn't say anything. Aoi didn't turn to look at him so he couldn't see, but he knew she was crying over their second daughter, the one who could never come back. A part of Tokiomi, the small part of him that remained Human, cried out against him at that knowledge, shouting at him to find and bring back their daughter before it was too late. But he couldn't…Sakura could never come back. It was already too late to reclaim her, and as her father, he couldn't bring her back and suppress her potential as a magus. It was simply impossible. For her sake, for her to blossom like the flower she was named for, she had to be cast from the Tohsaka Clan, and he crushed his heart for the sake of that decision.

"I promise…" he finally managed to croak out. "…I'll take good care of Rin."

"…thank you."

* * *

Elsewhere, a blue-haired girl angrily watched the whole scene in her crystal ball, shaking in fury.

Upon her return home from school, she had changed into her Greek dress, before heading for her mother's city. She had known of Hera's curse on Aoi for a long time now, and had repaid the goddess' swift and just retribution on Aoi with blood sacrifices, relishing the woman's pain from her wearying disease as she watched from her mother's city.

"Liar…hypocrite…" Sakura ground out as she watched the whole scene while holding the crystal ball in one hand, the other crackling with elemental lightning as her powers surged out of control and the Divine Words responded to her fury by actualizing the meaning of her actions. "…don't you dare cry over me…you didn't care when I was thrown away. You didn't shed a tear then, so don't you dare shed tears now over some misguided belief in penitence!"

For a moment Sakura was tempted to throw the crystal ball against the wall, but reason quickly asserted itself. She knew that her mother would not be pleased if she damaged or destroyed the mystic code, and she also knew that doing so would not achieve anything and would merely waste her righteous anger. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she replaced the seeing stone on its pedestal before turning and striding off to the Temple of Hera. She had sacrifices to offer.

* * *

A/N

Yes I know Kariya's not really a tactical genius, but Medea thinks he is what with his wandering around stumping her attempts to find him. The same goes for Archer who seems to think that Sakura is directing Caster when in fact Medea is actually doing as she pleases.

Finally, I know that in canon Sakura has no elemental affinities, but her lack of elemental affinities and possession of Imaginary Numbers come from Aoi. But since her concept of maternity has shifted from Aoi to Medea, what she inherited from the previous generation has also changed. Sakura now has two elemental affinities: wind and ether (void), and has exchanged Imaginary Numbers for Divine Words.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 6

Irisviel was talking to Sabre in an upstairs sitting room when the entirety of Castle von Einzbern was shaken by a thunderous impact originating from the entrance hall. Immediately deploying her armour, the Knight of the Sword helped the platinum-blonde homunculus up to her feet before rushing down to the entrance hall. Sabre had already sensed Rider's presence, and wondered if she had to fight the King of Conquerors here and now while her true Master was out preparing to strike against the other Masters.

The instant they arrived at the top of the stairs leading down to the entrance hall however, they were brought up short by a complaining whine from Rider's Master, who had shakily gotten up from the chariot floor beside his Servant. "There was a door you know." Waver grumbled.

"True…" Rider loudly proclaimed, standing beside a cask of what was probably wine much to Sabre's surprise. And his appearance…Sabre relaxed a fashion realizing that there was a good chance that Rider wasn't here to fight against her. "…but what I planned for tonight is too grand to announce by simply knocking on the door."

"Rider…" Sabre demanded. "…what are you doing here?"

"So straight to the point Sabre…" Rider conceded. "…that's just like you. But fear not; tonight I am not here to fight, but rather I wish to have a discussion with you and perhaps other over this war and our respective goals."

"And the cask…?"

"Well, I thought to myself that civilized discourse would be easier if there was some drink to hand, wouldn't you agree?"

Surprised at Rider's intentions, Sabre looked over her shoulder at Irisviel who looked back at Sabre for a moment before giving an encouraging nod. "Very well…" Sabre conceded. "…but let us do so in a more appropriate location. A debris-strewn entrance hall – which is entirely your doing if I may so – is hardly the place for what you described as 'civilized discourse'."

Rider laughed uproariously at Sabre's words, before gesturing towards her. "Then lead on, King of Knights."

Nodding, Sabre walked down the stairs followed by Irisviel, and led both Rider and his Master to the open courtyard in the midst of the castle. Rider carried the cask he had brought with him by himself (his chariot vanishing behind him), and set it down in the middle of the courtyard before sitting on the ground beside it. After a moment, Sabre sat down opposite him, while Irisviel and Waver stayed a safe distance behind their respective Servants.

Sabre retained her stoic demeanour even as Rider bashed the cask open with one meaty fist and took a generous drink with a wooden, Japanese-style ladle. Sighing contentedly afterwards, he regarded Sabre with a friendly gaze. "The Grail is meant to be obtained by the one most worthy of it." He began. "And this war is meant to determine who that person or persons are. But if it's merely a case of deciding who is most worthy of it then there's really no need for bloodshed, wouldn't you agree?"

Sabre raised an eyebrow in surprise at the King of Conquerors' statement. "Do you really believe in what you said just now, King of Conquerors?" she asked. "You who conquered the entire world in your time and age…?"

"Of course I do!" Rider answered confidently, dipping the ladle back into the cask and offering it to Sabre filled with wine. "Victory without humiliation, conquest without bloodshed…so very difficult to achieve, yet those are the greatest of them all."

Sabre again raised an eyebrow in surprise, one that quickly vanished upon remembering her history lessons and the story of Alexander the Great – a military genius who never lost a battle and had a reputation of fairness and honour towards his enemies, and a father and generous friend to those who fought under his banner. So much so that even those whom he had conquered eventually accepted his dreams and ideals as their own, marching under his banners along the road to the distant shores of the ocean. Nodding, she accepted the ladle and drank. "I see, it seems that I've underestimated you. I apologize, King of Conquerors. But earlier you mentioned 'others'; I take it you extended an invitation to other Servants?"

"Indeed…" Rider confirmed, taking back the empty ladle being offered back to him. "…I supposed it would be too much to ask for Berserker and Assassin to come, and I couldn't find Lancer along the way, but I extended the offer to both Archer and Caster."

"You should feel honoured then pretenders…" Archer's arrogant voice spoke as he appeared near one side of the courtyard with the coalescing of rich and golden motes of light, the golden king calmly and unhurriedly making his way towards the centre. "…telling me about such a ridiculous idea, one so ridiculous than one such as I actually felt curious enough to grace it with my presence; you could at least have chosen a better-appointed place Rider. This place is below me."

"I agree…" a sultry, mocking voice said immediately afterward, and with a whirl of collapsing space a pair of individuals appeared in the courtyard as well. All eyes immediately turned to Caster and her companion, with Caster's unhooded face drawing quite a lot of attention from everyone present. Rider whistled at her elfin features, while a barely-noticeable twitch of an eyebrow was Archer's only reaction. Waver was actually blushing at the sight of the Servant's features, a blush which grew even more pronounced when Caster eyes' briefly flickered over to him and her lips twitched with amusement. "…such a quaint place to hold a discussion. Seeing as you interrupted my daughter's instruction for tonight, I certainly hope that this is worth the trouble of coming over here."

"On that we are agreed, witch." Archer sneered, Caster's eyes narrowing at the term. Irisviel however, had focused her attentions on the girl holding tight to the Servant. The facial appearance was similar to the Servant's, while the blue of her hair was virtually identical. The girl wore a white and gold Greek dress with a leather belt and a silver buckle, although in deference to Japan's temperate climate a black cloak fastened at one shoulder with a golden brooch shaped like multi-rayed star was also worn. And then Irisviel spotted the tattoos on the girl's right arm…tattoos of command spells.

"…a child…as a Master…!" she hissed in shock.

Her little outburst was quickly forgotten however, as Caster and her companion finally arrived at the courtyard's centre and sat down on the ground opposite the still-standing Archer. "How on Earth did you manage to invite these two, Rider?" Sabre asked in curiosity.

"Well Archer was hanging around in town and as for Caster well…"

Caster rolled her eyes and answered for him. "He bellowed out the invitation at the top of his lungs." She told Sabre, and Rider grinned unabashedly. "Apparently he'd worked out that I was keeping a general surveillance over the whole city, and well here we are."

Sabre just sighed and turned her attention to the girl accompanying Caster, and Rider did likewise. Sabre's eyes widened and one of Rider's eyebrows rose at the sight of the command spells on the girl's arm, but was prevented from saying anything by Archer finally noticing the girl's constant staring at him.

"What do you want, child?" He asked neutrally. This girl couldn't be anything less than Tokiomi's little blunder, although she looked nothing like that little whore of his. Blood adoption probably…he certainly wouldn't put it past Caster to do something like that to bind the girl to her. Her eyes were still Tokiomi's though, however unlike the man's dull and lifeless eyes hers were alive and glowed from within in a way he never expected from one not of the Age of Gods. How curious…he would reserve judgment for now.

"Um…" Sakura said, fidgeting in her mother's lap before looking at Archer in the eyes. "…are you King Gilgamesh?"

Archer's eyes flared wide at her words, his face expressing his shock at the girl, who had asked the question in Sumerian. Of course the context was wrong, the sentence structure was off, and the accent appalling, but it was Sumerian. But that wasn't what surprised Archer. Some linguists of the modern era – both mundane and otherwise – could claim to speak perfect Sumerian, but Archer would sneer at those claims. This girl, despite her flaws in the spoken word, spoke better than they ever could. For her words…had perfect meaning behind them, something that should be impossible by all accounts.

"Oh…?" Archer asked, his eyes narrowing calculatingly as his smirk returned in full force. "…what makes you say I'm King Gilgamesh?"

He asked the question in Sumerian, and Sakura answered in kind, copying his sentence structure like a student. "Back then you said that you were the only true king, and everyone else mere pretenders. And then all those Noble Phantasms you fired…their concepts were pure, so pure that it was obvious even when looking from far away. And finally…"

Sakura paused and pointed at Archer's armour. "…that's cuneiform. I can't read it, but that golden armour and your claims, the purity of your weapons…you can't be anything but the first king of all."

"And who is this King Gilgamesh you speak of child?" Archer finally asked, this question the final test to see whether or not he would acknowledge the child before him. In response Sakura stood, looked over her shoulder at her mother who nodded encouragingly at her, and then she began to sing softly in Sumerian.

"_Supreme over other kings, lordly in appearance…_

…_he is the hero, born of Uruk, the goring wild bull._

_He walks out in front, the leader…_

…_and walks at the rear, trusted by his companions._

_Mighty net, protector of his people…_

…_raging flood wave which destroys even walls of stone!_

_Offspring of Lugalbanda, Gilgamesh is strong to perfection…_

…_son of the august cow, Rimat-Ninsun…Gilgamesh is awesome to perfection._

_It was he who opened the mountain passes…_

…_who dug wells on the flank of the mountain._

_It was he who crossed the ocean, the vast seas, to the rising sun…_

…_who explored the world regions, seeking life._

_It was he who reached by his own sheer strength Utnapishtim, the Faraway…_

…_who restored the sanctuaries that the Flood had destroyed!_

…_for teeming mankind._

_Who can compare with him in kingliness?_

_Who can say like Gilgamesh: "I am King!"?_

_Whose name, from the day of his birth, was called 'Gilgamesh'?_

_Two-third of him is god one-third of him is Human._

_The great goddess Aruru designed the model for his body…_

…_she prepared his form…_

…_beautiful, handsomest of men…_

…_perfect._"

As she sang, magic danced to her tune, visions of ancient times playing across the courtyard to the astonishment of Sabre, Rider, and their Masters, while Caster and Archer looked on in amusement, the latter basking in his rightful praise. "What sorcery is this?" Waver gasped as he watched the Epic of Gilgamesh play out in vivid colour before and around them, a miracle in every sense of the word, such that the term 'magecraft' seemed incomplete as a description.

"…impossible…" Irisviel whispered, directing her gaze at the singing girl amidst the seated Servants. "…just who is that girl? What power could she have to perform this miracle with but a song?"

Archer laughed his heart out as Sakura finished singing, finally having found something in this dull era to warm his heart. "Child…" he said, speaking in Japanese once more. "…speak now the name of the King, that all may know his glory."

"You are Gilgamesh." Sakura replied, the eyes of the other Servants (save for Caster who merely closed her eyes briefly in acknowledgement of her daughter's superior insight regarding the matter) and Master widening in shock and recognition of the name. "You are the King of Heroes. The first and greatest King of Men."

"…well said." Gilgamesh replied, smirking widely as he held a hand out. A golden portal opened, and a circlet fell out of the Gate of Babylon onto his hand. Her eyes widening in astonishment, Archer placed it around Sakura's head, the gold refined and polished to an impossible degree by the hands of ancient masters, fiery gems set at the four cardinal directions glowing with inner fire. "You are too good for this world child, and that pathetic excuse for a sire most certainly does not deserve you. Let this be a reminder to you that you should aspire beyond this dull little world, for yours is a place in the King's court. I shall await you on the Throne of Heroes little one, so do not disappoint me."

Archer's eyes turned to Caster with approval. "You have raised this child wonderfully, Caster. She is worthy of you, and you of her. Your place on the Throne is well-earned."

"You honour me, King of Heroes." She said with a bow, and as the King turned away from her, she held out her arms and Sakura jumped into them. Removing the circlet, she reverently placed it in her daughter's lap while rearranging her hair so as to properly accentuate the King's gift.

"The King of Heroes, huh…?" Rider asked, grinning as he held out the ladle to Gilgamesh. "Well this is certainly awkward."

Gilgamesh didn't bother to respond, merely wrinkling his nose in disgust as he took a whiff of the offered beverage. "What the hell is this swill?" he snarled with his bad mood returning as he returned the ladle to Rider. Holding out his hand once again, two golden portals opened one of which dropped a quartet of gilded goblets onto his hand. The second portal however gently deposited a golden flagon on the ground instead. Tossing a goblet to each Servant, he filled his own goblet and inhaled the strong aroma as Rider filled the others' goblets.

"This is…!" Sabre said in surprise after taking her first sip.

"…perfect!" Rider exclaimed as he drained his goblet in one go.

"Now this is truly a drink of the gods." Caster said, taking a delicate sip as befitted the divine beverage, one hand holding the goblet while the other stroked her daughter's hair as the girl fell asleep in her lap, her crowned head resting against Caster's bosom.

"Whether they are weapons or drink…" Gilgamesh said grandly as he swirled the drink in his goblet. "…my treasury holds only the finest. This alone should be sufficient to show who is worthy of holding the Grail among us."

"Ha…!" Rider scoffed while refilling his goblet. "While your wine is truly superior, the Grail is no ordinary drinking glass. We must hear your wish to the Grail before we can decide who is worthy of holding it."

"Humph…" Gilgamesh scoffed in return. "…don't you realize it yet, pretender? All the world's treasures belong in my treasury. Therefore by that logic the Grail was mine long before this little carnival even began."

"If so then I suppose you could tell us what it looks like, couldn't you?"

"Fool…! The contents of my treasury have long since exceeded my knowledge. It is sufficient to say that since the Grail is a great treasure worthy of Heroic Spirits, then it belongs to I and to I alone."

"So basically you're saying that if we want the Grail all we have to do is ask your permission?"

"Indeed…!" Gilgamesh answered gleefully. "But I see no reason for me to reward pretenders such as you two."

"Hey now…" Rider protested. "…there's no need to be so stingy."

"My generosity is reserved for my subjects and retainers alone." Gilgamesh said loftily. "If you all were to submit to me, then I suppose I can spare a golden cup or two."

"Sorry, but I can't do that." Rider said, placing his empty goblet on the ground. "But Archer…you have no real interest in the Grail, don't you?"

"Of course not; I simply render judgment on those who dare claim my treasures. It is a matter of principle."

"And on what reasoning is that principle based on?" Sabre challenged, and Gilgamesh smirked in response.

"It's the law. My law, which I set down in ancient times long before any of you were born. You break it, and I punish you. Now then, I grow curious. Caster, pretenders, what wish do you have for the Holy Grail?"

"At this moment I have no desire before the Holy Grail." Caster replied with a shrug, much to the shock and surprise of everyone present. "When I was summoned, I had hoped to use the Grail to start over, to begin a new life free of the chains of my past…but this child…Sakura, she is enough. The Grail can grant me nothing more, for my wish has already been fulfilled."

"That child…" Sabre asked. "…she is your Master is she not? But how…?"

"She was thrown away by her birth parents." Caster sneered in disgust, disgust mirrored by everyone present, but most especially by Irisviel who was a parent herself. "They gave her away to a vampire to fulfil some half-baked alliance and magus ideal. In her despair she called out to me, and I answered her call and saved her from the dark and terrible fate that awaited her. Unwanted by her so-called family, what was I to do? I who was also used and cast aside in my own time and age? I took her in and cleansed as much as I could of the impurities of her blood and gave her my own blood, claiming her as my own. She is a brilliant child, and I find it hard to believe that such worthless garbage could ever produce such as her."

"He is a pathetic mongrel, that Tokiomi." Gilgamesh said, spitting at the mention of the man's name. "One of these days I shall take great pleasure in delivering the King's justice upon him. Make sure you watch, Caster. And your daughter as well; as members of the royal court, it is your obligation and privilege to observe the King's mercy."

Caster smirked in reply while Sabre merely looked conflicted whether or not to oppose Gilgamesh's plans to smite that Tokiomi person for his wrongdoings. "What of your wish, King of Conquerors?" Caster asked.

Rider was silent, refilling his goblet and taking a deep drink instead. Finally he gave an answer "…reincarnation."

"What…?" Waver said in shock, running over and trying to shake Rider by a shoulder. "Wasn't your wish supposed to be world conquest?" Rider's response was a light slap that sent him tumbling onto his backside.

"Idiot…" Rider said softly. "…what meaning would there be in conquering the world if I let that cup do all the work? Truly my wish is to conquer the world, but I do not need or want the Grail for that. The Grail is merely a means to give me a chance to do so."

"Pretender…" Gilgamesh sneered. "…you dare claim my treasure for such an insolent wish?"

"Even if the Grail allowed us to manifest in this world we ultimately do not belong here!" Rider thundered. Then with a softer voice, he continued "I wish to live, with flesh and blood once more, and with my own hands take both Heaven and Earth for my own sake!"

Raising his goblet to everyone present, he said "That is my Way of the King."

Gilgamesh was silent and murderous for a moment before smirking and returning the toast. "Well said King of Conquerors." The King of Heroes said with a note of respect in his voice. "I've decided: I shall kill you myself."

"And I shall take your treasury by force." Rider riposted, and Gilgamesh chuckled with approval.

"That is hardly how a King should behave." Sabre protested.

"Oh?" Gilgamesh asked, eyeing the King of Knights. "Then pray tell Sabre, what is your wish?"

"My wish…" Sabre said, pausing and closing her eyes briefly. "…is to turn back the clock and redo the selection of the king, and in so doing avert Britain's fate of destruction."

* * *

A/N

Gilgamesh likes children. I think this was brought up in Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, though no explanation was ever given. Personally I think Gilgamesh likes them because children are normally easily impressed, which would appeal to someone with an ego the size of the universe.

Then again, it's not exactly hard to impress kids when one's charisma is A-Rank, and one is literally the richest man in history (all the world's wealth belongs to him) and a king to boot.

Oh and that little poem isn't mine by the way. That's actually an online translation I obtained from ancienttexts . org of the first tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 7

Silence met Sabre's words. Caster and Rider looked at each other, while Gilgamesh looked quietly contemplative, as though reserving judgment on the other blonde. Finally it was Rider who broke the silence. "So what you're saying is that you would remove that which made you a hero in the first place, is that it?" he asked. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it under your rule that the land known as Britain fell to foreign invaders?"

"That is precisely why!" Sabre answered back. "I failed in my duty as a king, and therefore it is my responsibility and obligation to change it. To avert that fate, even if it means changing history itself, I will obtain the Holy Grail!"

Gilgamesh began to chuckle, something which quickly became full-blown laughter.

"Why do you laugh, Archer? What is so amusing with what I have said?" Sabre demanded angrily, but it was to Rider that Gilgamesh gave an answer to.

"Did you hear what she just said, King of Conquerors?" the golden king asked the giant between laughs. "It is her obligation she says…!"

"This is no laughing matter, King of Heroes." Caster interjected, though she quickly turned her attention to the King of Knights. "Sabre, surely you are not serious in that you would seek to remove the mark you've left in the history of the world, are you?"

"I am, and what is so wrong with what I intend to do?"

"It is wrong because you would change something that has no real need to be changed!" Caster replied, aghast at Sabre's desire. "Certainly Britain fell in the end, but even then some good must have come from your reign. If you change history then all that will have been for nothing!"

"Perhaps so…" Sabre agreed. "…but it was not enough. My efforts were not enough, to my everlasting regret. And that is why I will change history, so that someone more suitable, who would not have committed the same mistakes I made, would be chosen as king. Even if it means ceasing to exist, for the sake of my people, I am willing to pay that price."

"You are wrong Sabre." Rider said to her, his voice and expression dead serious. "It is not the King who should devote himself to the people, but the people who should devote themselves to the King."

"What…!" Sabre gasped, and then countered angrily "That is the reasoning of a tyrant!"

"Exactly…!" Rider responded. "Kings and heroes are what they are because they challenged that which should not be challenged, broke that which should not be broken, and attained that should not be attained. One who does not wish to aspire beyond the limitation cannot be a hero, and a king who would deny that which he has done is unworthy to be a king, much less a hero!"

"Then are you saying that you have no regrets about your life, King of Conquerors?" Sabre snarled angrily. "Your reign ended with all your heirs slain, and your empire torn apart and divided into smaller kingdoms that quickly faded into the sands of time. Do you truly not regret such an outcome?"

"None whatsoever…" Rider answered solemnly, drawing gasps of surprise from Sabre and the Masters, and nods of approval from the other Servants. "…nations rise and fall and my empire was no exception. I will shed tears for it and I will mourn for it, but I will never regret it. If I did, I would merely shame all who stood by me to the end of the journey."

Transfixing Sabre with an iron gaze, he said "Do you really believe Britain is an exception to that rule? Britain fell under your rule yes, but even if you changed the selection of the king the outcome would not change. It is inevitable: the Kingdom of Britain will fall regardless of who sits on the throne. Far better that you accept your responsibility as it is, and seek a more worthy way of honouring all that you have done, both the good and the bad, and all that stood by you than pursuing such a worthless desire."

"Perhaps you are right and Britain was doomed from the beginning, but even if that were the case I would rather my knights lived a full life, and did not lose their lives because of my mistakes!" Sabre insisted. "What is a king if he cannot even protect those that stand by him? Just laws and a just rule are supreme duties for a king, and I…!"

"So you're saying that kings should be slaves to formless ideals?" Rider interrupted.

"I do. Without a guiding ideal, power is meaningless. Those that forsake or lack ideals…"

Sabre broke off as Caster began to laugh as well. "Oh Sabre…" Caster said, delicately pulling aside one braided lock of hair from before her face. "…I think I understand now. It's not that you failed as a king, it's that you failed as a Human being."

"What did you say?" Sabre asked, surprised at the other woman's words.

"To you being a king means to be not a Human. It is to be the embodiment of perfection and idealism." Caster explained. "But if you become perfect…how can you rule over the imperfect? How can you lead them and how can they look up to you, when you cannot even understand what they want, and when they cannot comprehend you?"

Sabre's eyes widened in shock, memories of whispers of how King Arthur couldn't understand Human emotions and in so doing had no right to rule over them echoing in her mind. "You have no right to say that!" she spat, desperate to recover her composure.

"Don't I?" Caster asked rhetorically. "You never understood why Mordred Pendragon revolted, didn't you?"

"You dare give my name to that…!"

"Mordred Pendragon didn't want the throne, Altria Pendragon." Caster continued mercilessly. "That was only an excuse, something to provide those that followed her higher cause to believe in, and to appease Morgana le Fay. No, what she really wanted was your acceptance. Regardless of whether or not her origins were pure or impure, Mordred was your responsibility. The simple fact is that you could not understand such a simple desire from your child, or take responsibility for a single person…and therefore how could you take responsibility for an entire nation?"

"_F-father…_" the words echoed in Sabre's memories, and for a moment she was back on that blood-stained hill, her lance punched straight through Mordred's torso even as Mordred's own blade cut into her flank. "_…how could you?_" There was no hatred in those green eyes and in that face that was a mirror image of her own, only sadness that even in death her own 'father' would not recognize her. Anger burned hot within the King of Knights, unwilling to give way to reason, and unwilling to realize the true extent of her failure.

"What do you know of betrayal?" Sabre raged, all but drawing her sword in anger. "What do you know of treachery? You know nothing of that bastard child, so don't you dare use her to lecture me, witch!"

"I know betrayal better than any here!" Caster shouted back. "I am the betrayed and the betrayer, feared and hated on the Throne of Heroes as the one who embodied treachery to a greater degree than any other Heroic Spirit!"

"Princess…" Rider murmured in confirmation. "…sorceress…murderer…Medea…"

"No one knows betrayal better than I do." Medea whispered. "If any can discern the true motives of other betrayers, then it is I. And I say to you Altria Pendragon: because you could not be Human, you doomed your reign from the very beginning. How can a king who does not understand Humanity rule over Humanity?"

"That's…" Sabre stammered, before scowling and launching a counterattack. "…you question my actions, and yet your own hands drip with blood: the blood of your own children no less!"

"And I will never deny it." Caster replied resolutely, much to Sabre's shock. "I will mourn them for eternity, and their blood will drip eternally from my fingers, but I will stand by with what I have done. I will not run from the blame or the responsibility."

"You accuse me of running from my actions?"

"Isn't that what I've been saying all this time?" Caster said, tilting her head. "Perhaps I was not clear enough; if so, then I suppose you remember poor Lancelot and Guinevere? If you had hunted and executed them for what they had done, then your people would have sympathized with you. The betrayed king, who enforced the law of the land despite the pain of betrayal by his queen and greatest champion…but instead, you let them go. And in so doing condemned them to a fate worse than death itself, for they could never have forgiven themselves afterwards. You never considered that, did you? Or am I wrong?"

Sabre couldn't say anything, Caster's words driven like razor-sharp blades through her heart. "But…" she whispered, grasping at straws. "…if what you say is true…then would it not be better if those mistakes were not made in the first place…?"

"Humph…" Caster scoffed, looking away in disgust. "…running away from the responsibility of all your mistakes, just like you ran from the responsibility of being a parent or as a judge? Somehow I am not surprised."

Rider took a drink, and made a sound of contentment. "Don't you think that you were a little too harsh there, Medea?"

"No, not really." She replied, giving a shrug and the King of Conquerors directed his attention back to Sabre.

"Let me tell you this, King of Knights." He asked. "The righteousness you displayed in life, and the ideals that you pursued may indeed have saved your people once, but what then? What happened afterwards? You saved them, but you never led them! You didn't show them what a king should truly be!"

"But I…!"

"When they needed you the most…" he continued, his voice growing louder and louder with every word. "…you left them to pursue your silly little ideals!"

Sabre shook in horror at the realization of the full extent of her failure, staggering back from the accusing gaze of the King of Conquerors, who continued to speak against her. "You're no king. You're merely someone who was enthralled by the ideal of a king who serves others. You…you are nothing more than a little girl."

"I…I…" Sabre could only stammer out, no longer seeing the courtyard of Castle von Einzbern, but the anguished faces of her knights, of Queen Guinevere, of Lancelot, and finally, a mirror of herself in red and silver armour, her face and green eyes filled with immeasurable sadness.

"It would seem that our little banquet must come to an end now…" Rider said, standing up. "…so I ask you King of Heroes and Princess of Colchis: must a King stand alone?"

Gilgamesh merely smirked while Medea briefly closed her eyes before replying "The King is nothing without something to rule."

"Is that right?" Rider asked, drawing his sword and summoning his chariot. "Perhaps one of these days I will show you the answer to that question. But here and now is neither the time nor place. Waver let's go."

As Waver ran to his Servant's side (and casting wary glances at Medea and Gilgamesh as he did so), Rider turned his attention once more the distraught Sabre. "Little girl, let me say this for the last: awaken from your sad dream, and face the reality, lest it burden you and destroy what little pride you have left as a Heroic Spirit."

As Rider rode off into the Heavens on his chariot, the Servant of the Spell stood holding her sleeping child in her arms. "Well then King of Heroes, we shall take our leave." Then turning to Sabre, she said "Altria Pendragon, would you truly be as cruel as to render all the loyal service of those who fought and died in your name meaningless? Ask yourself whether or not they would rather die in service to you or serve another in life." And with a swirl of collapsing space, Medea was gone.

"The King of Conquerors and my retainer's mother are free to say what they wish to say, Sabre." Gilgamesh said as he stood and the wine flagon and goblets disappeared back into the Gate of Babylon. "However keep true to those pure and childish ideals of yours. The agony on your face as you bear their burdens is simply marvellous. Perhaps someday they may even render you worthy of my love." Laughing to himself, the King of Heroes vanished into motes of golden light.

"Sabre…" Irisviel asked in concern, left alone with the distraught Servant. "…are you alright?"

"I remember…" Sabre said, her voice broken as she raised her face to look at the stars, Irisviel's eyes widening as she saw tears drop from the Servant's face to the ground. "…I remember a knight at Camelot saying that I never understood how others felt. And I remember her face as I struck her down, and I saw no hatred. I saw only…sadness…"

* * *

"I must be getting soft." Kiritsugu sighed as he lit a cigarette and took a calming drag on it while walking away from the collapsing structure of the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, ignoring the cries of fear and terror from the civilians watching the tallest building in the city crumble into a pile of rubble.

Obtaining the plans for the hotel had been a simple matter, and the same went for isolating key structural components that would need to be destroyed to take down the structure. Even simpler was confirming from the hotel staff that Kayneth was not only staying at the hotel, but had actually reserved the entire top floor of the hotel for his personal use. The rich fool…

Nevertheless, Kiritsugu had to admit that the defences with which Kayneth had surrounded himself were top-notch. Infiltration was impossible, and while a frontal assault did have a considerable chance of success, the end result would be that any attacker would be exhausted and easy prey once they reached the waiting Kayneth and his Servant. Fortunately for Kiritsugu though, Kayneth was a typically arrogant magus, and he had assumed that any opponent in this contest would seek to confront him up front as a proper magus. And Kiritsugu was anything but a proper magus, and he was reasonably certain that Kayneth would not have expected an opponent would choose to attack him, and do so in an oblique fashion.

"_Back then I would have simply blown up the building and to hell with civilian casualties._" The Magus Killer mused silently as he threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped it with a boot. "_Oh well, I suppose that it got the job done in the end, so no need to trouble myself with semantics._"

His thoughts were interrupted when the bead in his buzzed with static and Maiya's voice spoke with a note of urgency. "…it's Kotomine…assistance…repeat…"

"Maiya…!"

* * *

"_The man's quite good._" Assassin – or one of her incarnations – mused as he watched in astral form Kotomine fighting Maiya. "_I'm guessing that idiot Tokiomi actually had a good idea for once and decided that Emiya wouldn't be as formidable without his mistress backing him up._"

"_I suppose he was bound to use his head eventually._" Another Assassin commented. "_Or he just decided to do it on a whim._"

"_I'm placing my money on the latter._" A third Assassin said. "_Seriously, does the man really think that little stunt we pulled earlier would fool anybody? A child could have seen right through it!_"

"_What did you expect?_" the first Assassin replied. "_He's a magus, and as far as I know most of them aren't exactly blessed with common sense._"

"_So what do we do?_" the third Assassin asked, watching as the battle clearly began to favour Kotomine. "_Our orders were to keep an eye on the Masters but if we let Kotomine kill Emiya's mistress, then the balance in the war will shift to Tokiomi's favour. Our new employer isn't exactly fond of him, and I doubt if she'd be pleased if that happened. On the other hand, killing Kotomine will shift the balance towards Emiya, and from what I know about the man, he's as good as a senior member of our order._"

"_You've already given the answer._" The second Assassin said. "_We don't kill either of them, but we break this little brawl of theirs up._"

* * *

Maiya scowled as she hid behind a pillar in the unfinished mall from where she had been observing the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel…up until Kiritsugu had blown it up. She was supposed to provide confirmation of Kayneth's demise, as there was a small chance that the man had a mystic code or could have used a command spell to save himself from the collapse of the building. That is, until Kotomine Kirei had shown up and tried to kill her. And unless Kiritsugu got here soon, he would kill her.

"I can't believe that man would go so far as to blow up an entire building." Kirei said conversationally as he stalked through the shadows, black keys held in his hands. "Is he really a magus? Or was he even a magus to begin with?"

Eyes narrowing, Maiya jumped out of cover and fired several shots in Kirei's direction…to no avail. His senses and reaction time sharpened by intense training and by years of experience hunting down heretics, demons, and vampires, the Executor managed to avoid all her shots while simultaneously throwing several black keys at her with expert precision. She managed to avoid getting skewered and her shadow from being pinned, but one of the keys grazed her hand, forcing her to drop her weapon. Cursing, she ran to the next patch of shadow…and stumbled on a piece of debris.

"Shit…!" she swore, her eyes widening as Kirei bore down on her, light glinting off of a fresh set of black keys held in his hands…and then widened further in surprise as Kirei jumped back, an expression of surprise on his face as several paper-thin projectiles shot past barely missing the Executor. One of them clipped a nearby pillar, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter.

"Assassin…" Kirei hissed, barely avoiding another attack from another Assassin, this one dual wielding katars…katars apparently enchanted with the wind element, the Executor's eyes narrow as he perceived the monomolecular edge of focused wind around the Assassin's weapons. Blocking the follow-up with his block keys, he launched a counter-attack but all his blows were successfully parried or avoided by the Servant, although Kirei was eventually able to kick the Assassin away…and was nearly bludgeoned by a third Assassin, this one wielding a massive war hammer, one that left a surprisingly deep crater on the ground he had been standing on just a moment ago.

"_Magic weaponry..._" Kirei thought angrily to himself. "_...Caster's been busy it would seem. Father and Tokiomi will need to be warned of this little detail._" His thoughts were interrupted by a fresh barrage of paper-thin razors which he barely managed to dodge, though they left painful gashes across his arms and legs.

"Kotomine Kirei…" the Assassin armed with katars spoke, flanked by his fellow wielding the war hammer. "…we've no orders to kill you – yet – however we will not allow you to kill Emiya's mistress. Retreat at once or we shall keep you occupied until Emiya's arrival. Know however, that whether or not he spares you is no longer any concern of ours."

Grimacing, Kirei locked eyes with the Servant for several long moments before he stowed his black keys and turned to leave. Giving time he might be able to fight and win against Assassin, mystic codes or not, but right now he needed to inform both his father and Tokiomi of this situation…especially since Assassin's actions indicate the possibility of an alliance between Caster and Emiya. He remained cautious of course, suspecting foul play on his former Servant's part, although it would seem that the Assassins truly intended to let him go without further bloodshed.

"Why…?" Maiya asked once the Executor was out of earshot. An Assassin turned towards her, his face hidden behind his skull mask.

"The status quo will be maintained…for now." The Servant answered her. "And just so you know…the Lord El-Melloi survived. How is a question we will not answer for you, and so content yourself with the knowledge that he yet lives. Farewell…"

With those words, the Servant of Assassination vanished even as Kiritsugu Emiya finally arrived on the scene.

* * *

A/N

And there we go…

Actually, I'm not hurrying things up, just shuffling the timeline what with the shifts in character identities and loyalties.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 8

"Please accept my apologies." Assassin said on bended knee, kneeling in the shadows while her Master tucked her sleeping daughter into bed and placed her circlet in a magically-secure container. "We merely acted as we felt best in the situation, and sought to preserve the current status quo in light of ignorance with regards to your future plans."

"It matters not." Medea said, standing up and walking over to the exterior doors which she quietly slid open. Taking a few steps out of the temple building, her pale skin was washed over by the pale moonlight. "While it is undoubtedly true that our compact is now revealed to the Magus Killer, I am of the opinion that rather than provoking him against us, this will actually work in our favour by making him cautious against our forces."

"What of Tohsaka, my lady?" Assassin asked cautiously. "Kotomine will undoubtedly inform him of your granting us magical weaponry for use in battle. This might actually risk the Overseer's concern…" Assassin stopped, realizing that she was actually pointing out the consequences of her own actions.

Medea didn't comment on it, though a flicker of amusement flashed briefly over her face at the mention of the Overseer. "So what if it does?" she said dismissively. "If the Overseer causes me trouble, then I'll turn him and his little hovel into a smoking crater. If he unites the other Masters against us, then I'll summon the Holy Grail by myself and use it to grant myself a true corporeal form before igniting the ley-lines. I'll turn the entire city into a sea of flames while transporting my city to my homeland along the Black Sea. And if the clans persist, I will reveal their secrets to the other bloodlines."

"Their secrets…?"

"The Holy Grail is a surprisingly impressive magical construct. For this time and age, that is. Not only can it grant wishes by the sacrifice of six Servants, it can even do so with only five sacrifices so long as the wishes are within the limits of the World. But what happens when all seven Servants are fed into the furnaces of the Grail? It was ingeniously hidden, but not good enough to hide the truth from one such as myself. And that little secret would be enough to bring down the wrath of the other bloodlines on the heads of the clans behind the whole contest."

Medea turned to Assassin with a stern countenance. "Fear not, Assassin. Serve me well, and when the time comes I shall allow you to make a wish on the Grail if that is your desire. Granting a Heroic Spirit corporeal form is not that big a wish for the Grail, and there should be enough prana within the container to grant your wish: to achieve a complete personality of your own. Therefore do what I tell you, and all will be well."

"Yes, my Master." Assassin replied, before vanishing into astral form. As the other Servant left, Caster returned to her contemplation of the night sky.

* * *

_Sakura blinked and looked around her, at the vast and apparently infinite space surrounding her. Everything was…white and formless, stretching out endlessly in every direction. She wasn't even sure if she was floating or if she was walking, or if she simply was. "Well, actually whether you're floating or walking depends on how you want to move here." Another voice told her from behind, causing the little girl to whirl around to look at the other person._

_She was a tall and curvaceous woman with blue eyes and long blue hair like her and her mother's own, although the woman's hair was tied into a ponytail behind her head. The woman wore silver-collared black robes and a black cloak with long and wide sleeves reaching halfway past her elbows, the former tied at the waist with a black sash and the latter overlaid with black-lacquered metal plates decorated with crimson gems over the shoulders – a form of shoulder armour of some sort. The robes were tightly bound at her wrists and reached down to her ankles and were hemmed in silver with further black embroidery of runes arranged in a defensive configuration beyond that which her mother had taught her thus far._

_More armour plating protected her chest, black-lacquered metal with silver-engraved runes surrounding a glowing gemstone set in the very centre of her chest, and she carried a spear in one hand. Its head was transparent like glass, though Sakura suspected the spear was far from ordinary given the glowing gemstone located precisely where the spearhead met the haft, which was made of golden or gilded metal._

"_W-who are you?" Sakura asked the woman while shrinking back cautiously._

"_Oh…!" The woman said cheerfully, grinning and raising her free hand enthusiastically. "That's a good question! I suppose you can call me the World, or the Universe, or the Truth, or maybe even God! But best of all, you can even call me…yourself."_

_Silence met the other woman's proclamation, Sakura staring at her blankly with her mouth hanging open, the other woman grinning cheerfully…and then the silence broke when the other woman broke down laughing. "Sorry 'bout that…" she apologized to Sakura after several moments. "…but I couldn't resist. I borrowed those cheesy but totally awesome intro lines from a comic book a friend of mine was reading. Come to think of it Atlasia found them quite amusing too…anyway I digress. This place is rather…blank. It's a mental projection of how you want to meet with me, so how it looks like depends on you. Don't you think that you should change it?"_

_Sakura was silent for a moment before giving a timid giggle despite herself and asked "Um…you're not here to hurt me, are you?"_

"_Unless you want me to – which I sincerely hope you do not – no, I'm not here to hurt you." The woman replied, dropping her grin and adopting a slightly amused expression instead._

"_Then…how do I change this place?" Sakura asked, a little more confidently this time._

_The woman looked calmly at her and said "Once you wish for it, it'll appear in front of you. This is your world, and it will appear as you wish it to appear."_

_Sakura looked at her for a moment, and then she closed her eyes, concentrating all her willpower…and when she opened them again, she gasped at the unexpected sight, or rather sensations. "Well now…" the woman said as she looked around. "…it seems that great minds think alike."_

_The two of them were standing on a hill covered in verdant green grass dotted with flowers of varying colours: purple, yellow, red, pink, blue, and white, all swaying in the cool spring breeze. The hills rolled down to a nearby stream, the cool water sparkling in the morning Sun, birds flying and wheeling overhead in the clear blue sky, and the grassy landscape continuing past the other bank to distant, ice-capped mountains. "Very nice…" the woman said, sitting down on the grass and gently picking a flower with her free hand while the other laid her spear onto the ground beside her. "…it reminds me of home."_

"_Home…?" Sakura asked, sitting down on the grass opposite the woman._

"_Yes, home…" the woman echoed. "…I was born and raised in a warm land far to the south, but I spent most of my life in the cold lands of the north. I couldn't help it, but I fell in love with the northern lands…do you know what these flowers are called?"_

"…_no."_

"_They're called primroses or primula in Latin." The woman said, handing the flower in her hand to Sakura who took it with the barest hesitation. "They were given that name because they are always the first flowers to bloom in the springtime. I've been rather fond of them for that reason, a sign of change that things are set to begin anew. Don't get me wrong, winter has its own beauty, but the powdered snow of winter must give way to the vibrant blooms of spring, which leads to the fiery intensity of summer, then to the cool fruitfulness of autumn, and finally back to the pristine snow and ice of winter."_

"_That's very poetic of you." Sakura complemented, finally deciding that she liked this woman in black before her._

"…_you really think so?" she asked back, and Sakura beamed._

"_Yes…!"_

"_Thanks, but my friends always said my poetry was off one way or another."_

"_They were probably just teasing you."_

"_Yeah, that's probably it. Thanks for the complement, um...?"_

"_It's Sakura…" Sakura introduced herself. "…Sakura Colchis, but you can just call me Sakura."_

"_I see…" the woman said, nodding in understanding. "…thanks for the complement, Sakura. Now then, I shall get to the point. I'm going to ask you three important questions, though not all at once, and you don't have to answer straight away. If you can't give me a complete answer, then I'll just go and come back when you have one. Do you understand?"_

"_Yes…!"_

"_All right then…the first question is: what do you want?"_

"_Huh?" Sakura said, surprised at the seemingly simple question posed by the woman in black._

"_Now, now…" the woman in black said, smiling benignly. "…the question nearly isn't as simple as it sounds, although from the look on your face it seems you've already worked that part out." Pausing, the woman looked at Sakura for a few moments before continuing "I'm not asking you what you want now, or what you want tomorrow, or what you want in a few years. I'm asking you what it is you truly want."_

"_I…" Sakura began, and then paused for several moments. "…I want to change the world. I want to become the morning star, the brightest and most beautiful of the stars in the sky, just like my mother wants me to be."_

"_Is that right?" the woman said, leaning back on her arms. "But that's what your mother wants for you, isn't it? I'm not saying it's a bad thing to desire, but do you really want what she wants for you?"_

"_Yes I do." Sakura said resolutely, and the woman smiled slightly wider at the iron in the girl's eyes. "Mother saved me. She gave me a life…that's why I'll accept the future she gives me."_

"_I see…" the woman said, nodding and then sitting up straight. "...in that case, what is your reason for accepting that future?"_

"_My reason…?"_

"_Your mother gave you that future, but what is the reasoning behind that future? Even if you accept what she gives you, without something higher to anchor that future, it'll remain but an ephemeral dream, a distant utopia which you can never reach no matter how far you stretch your arms, something that can never be attained regardless of how much effort you put into it."_

_Chuckling ruefully, the woman stopped for a moment before continuing "Sorry, but it seems I've been using big words and might actually be confusing you. Instead let me tell you the story of a man who believed in a dream passed down from his father, and pursued that dream all his life. Everything he ever did was to fulfil that dream, but in the end he never made the dream come true, and it was that same dream which betrayed him in the end. He gave everything for it, yet he never gained anything for it. Before he died, I asked him 'Why…? Why do follow such an ideal blindly? For what reason did you sacrifice so much for it? What reasoning lay beyond your dream? You threw away the person you loved, your own son, and deceived yourself with a smiling face your entire life…so why?"_

"…_what did he say?" Sakura asked, saddened by the story._

"_He told me '…because that man's dream wasn't wrong…' and I told him how foolish he was to pursue such a dream blindly for its own sake. In the end, it didn't matter. The man condemned himself, and wandered the world for eternity, unable to make his dream come true."_

"_Why are you telling me this?"_

"_There's nothing wrong with dreaming Sakura." The woman said, standing up. "Your dream of changing the world, and that person's dream were both great and wonderful dreams. What's wrong is blindly following a dream handed down from someone else without understanding why they wanted that dream in the first place, for without a reason one cannot reconcile the dream with reality. After all the two are contrary to each other, and without a reason to go between the two, then they cannot coexist. If you cannot find a reason, then you should abandon the dream and find another one. So let me ask you again: what do you want?"_

_Sakura couldn't answer, and looked downcast instead. Noticing this, the woman walked over to her and kneeled down before her, cupping her face with one hand. "Don't worry, you'll find a reason. I'm sure of it; because you're you."_

And with those words, the woman in black vanished with a smile along with the dream world, Sakura Colchis awakening as light streamed through the paper panes of her room.

* * *

"Please accept my apologies." Kirei Kotomine said, kneeling before Tokiomi Tohsaka and unknowingly imitating his former Servant's obeisance before the Servant of the Spell. "I have failed in my given task of weakening the Magus Killer's overall ability to be effective on the battlefield. I have no excuse, and I will accept any punishment."

"There is no need for you to debase yourself, Kirei-kun." Tokiomi replied magnanimously. "You did fail to eliminate Emiya's henchwoman, but you were facing a Servant. True, under normal circumstances an Executor should be able to handle one of the Assassin-class with relative ease, but Assassin has had its performance increased by the Caster. There is nothing to apologize for. Indeed, you must be congratulated instead for surviving like you have, and for bringing us such valuable information. Caster is making mystic codes for the Assassins…hmmm I wonder if it would be possible to capture those weapons. Considering that Caster is a magus from the Age of Gods, then deciphering the mysteries present within those weapons could prove a godsend and a worthy addition to the Tohsaka Crest. But enough about that; what has your father to say regarding my proposal?"

"Yes…" Kirei said, standing up. "…he says he will consider the matter, but fears that Caster may simply take control of the Grail system if provoked in such a fashion."

"What…!"

"He says he detected several attempts to circumvent the bounded fields protecting the Greater Grail, and he suspects that while she may not have accessed the Greater Grail yet, she may already know of its existence and true purpose…"

"…and by extension know the functions of the entire system." Tokiomi finished before actually giving an angry snarl. "Damn that woman. She has us by the neck; has Risei any insights as to Caster's designs?"

"He suspects that Caster wishes to continue the contest strictly within the letter of the rules…"

"…rules which she can bend in her favour." Tokiomi said darkly. "And not just her; Emiya being what he is, is just as capable of bending the ritual to his plans to a similar degree. Caster…Emiya…they are dangerous and unpredictable elements within the contest that we can do without. What can you tell me about the Lord El-Melloi?"

"We are unable to confirm his survival, but I can assure you that Lancer is still active."

"Interesting…" Tokiomi mused, his mood beginning to lift. "…that could mean that he either survived – I wouldn't be surprised if he did, seeing as the Archibald are an old and respectable magus bloodline with powerful magic – or Lancer has found a new Master. The latter is not a desirable outcome, as this would enter another unknown variable into the scenario. Caster and Emiya are more than enough variables…but enough of this. We will simply have to adjust our scenario as needed. Will you be joining us for breakfast Kirei-kun?"

"I am honoured by your invitation…" Kirei said with a bow. "…but alas, I have other matters to attend to."

Nodding, Tokiomi stood and dismissed the man before heading for the dining room. Rin was already there, helping her mother place the food on the table. As always, Aoi's presence calmed the Tohsaka magus, although as so often happened lately he found himself being concerned by Aoi's physical appearance. Although she had recently been released from the hospital after positive results from her latest treatment sessions, the strain from her disease and the treatments had left her pale and wan. Despite the risks of the Holy Grail War, Tokiomi had felt it best to keep her and Rin close at hand just in case instead of sending them to their extended relatives as he had originally planned. Taking his place at the head of the table, the other members of his family sat down with him…and then Gilgamesh appeared from the direction of the wine cellar.

Tokiomi immediately felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, something that grew worse as an expression of calculated malice flashed through the King's face. "Tokiomi…" the King began silkily. "…would you believe that just the other night I had an interesting talk with Rider, Caster, and Sabre?"

Tokiomi was silent, as were the other Tohsakas, and after a moment the blonde continued "That Rider was an interesting work; he is a worthy opponent for me, one I shall grant the honour of dying by the King's hand. I shall reserve judgment on the King of Knights for now…I am intrigued by her, and I may yet find worth in her. As for Caster, well if she survives this war then perhaps I shall grant her the beauty of a gift from the King…"

At this point, the King's crimson eyes flashed over the gathered Tohsakas, and a barely noticeable note of malice entered his voice "…but it was the one with Caster that truly intrigued me yes. None of the other Masters participated in Rider's little drinking party…except for her. She didn't drink of course; Caster would be a poor mother if she allowed her child to do so at such an age…"

Tokiomi and Aoi started at those words, a thrill of horror running through Aoi even as the King continued with his measured words of cruelty "…she recognized me. For that feat alone she was worthy to stand in my presence. But when she sang the songs of Uruk, city of the King and palest shadow of the King's glory, I knew that she was worthy of even greater reward: a place in the royal court, and recognition of her mother's place on the Throne of Heroes. Caster probably did coach her on proper behaviour after all, and she did it well. I can only imagine what arcane secrets that girl is learning now…"

Aoi was clutching her head now, gritting her teeth and struggling to keep her guilty conscience in check even as Rin desperately asked what was wrong. "What do you mean by 'her mother'?" Tokiomi demanded. "Aoi is right here!"

"Fool…" Gilgamesh said, crimson eyes flashing over to Tokiomi. "…you threw the girl away, so you and your woman have no right to call yourself her parents. Well, you're probably that girl's father still by blood – she has your eyes after all – but in every other sense of the word she's Caster's daughter now. Blood adoption most likely, and considering her age and the way she interacted with that woman that girl probably underwent it willingly. Not that I would blame her; she made the right choice, and is now far above you, or the mediocre child you kept here."

"I am not mediocre!" Rin said angrily, and Gilgamesh laughed uproariously at that even as Aoi's body shook as she sobbed out of control beside her only remaining daughter. Blood adoption; even if she wasn't a magus herself, she knew enough to know about it. And considering Caster's gender, then she literally wasn't Sakura's mother anymore. It was the worst thing that could ever happen to a mother, and it was entirely her own fault. If only she had been stronger…if only she had spoken up for Sakura…if only…

"Child…" Gilgamesh said, favouring the scowling Rin with a smile. Normally such an outburst would have merited summary execution, but Gilgamesh liked children. Such pure spirits they had…he didn't like to kill them, not unless he had absolutely no other choice. "…when you can summon a Heroic Spirit at the age your half-sister did, and can speak the holy words of the Age of Gods, then you can call yourself talented."

Having said what he wanted to say, the King of Heroes strode off laughing, leaving the Tohsaka Clan in figurative ruins behind him.

* * *

A/N

Yes, the woman in black was referring to FMA when she said she took those intro lines from a comic book. So yes, the alchemists of Atlas would probably find alchemy's depiction in FMA to be rather, well, amusing. As for who the woman in black is…I'm not telling (no, she is not Yuko Takao, or her namesake from SMT 3). And yes, she borrowed the question of the Shadows from Babylon 5.

Finally, how do you like my new avatar? Allow me to introduce (from left to right) The Old Gentleman in the Wheelchair, Louisa Ferre, Louis Cyphre (centre-back), The Blonde Child, and Louis Cyphre. It seems fitting to use THAT GUY as the avatar for the story considering how I'm leading Sakura down a dark path. Stay golden…


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 9

"Hey Yui-chan, Sakura-chan…" Kyoko Soryu asked her two friends as they sat around a table in an ice cream store eating ice cream, classes having been cancelled early that day. "…what do you think happened to Ito-san?"

Kyoko was referring to Makoto Ito, one of their classmates who had been absent for the past few days. And apparently the reason he'd been absent was also the reason for classes being cancelled that day. According to rumours floating around the teachers and older students, he and his family might have fallen prey to a serial killer running around town.

"He's probably sick at home." Yui Shikigami said dismissively, taking a mouthful of ice cream in her mouth simultaneously. "I'm so jealous; I wish I was sick so I'd get to stay home too."

"But if you did that, then we wouldn't be able to see each other, won't we?" Sakura Colchis returned with a smile, a smile returned by the other girl.

"Well that's true." Yui essayed sheepishly, chuckling even as Kyoko smiled indulgently at her two friends. Unknown to the two, Sakura was well aware of what happened to their classmate. As part of her training exercises, she had been made by her mother to use her seeing stone to scout out possible dangers in the city, apart from the Masters and their Servants. Apart from mere observation, scouting also involved invoking the aid of benign and benevolent spirits to guide one's sight to the right target.

Surprisingly enough, Makoto himself had turned out one of those possible dangers, which had perplexed Sakura. How could a mere six year-old boy be a danger? She'd gone to her mother, who performed another, more complex variation of the spell on the boy, and ascertained that while Makoto was not a magus like her, he was still possessed of some kind of flaw discernible to the spirit of guidance Sakura had summoned to aid her. A flaw – yet unknown – that might prove the boy rather dangerous in the future; as for being dangerous, her mother had amusedly pointed out that Sakura could kill people if she so chose, despite being a mere six year-old girl herself.

Sakura had laughed with her mother back then, although a part of her had been rather disturbed at the realization that her mother was right; she could kill people if she wanted to, and with her own power no less. Even worse was the realization that despite being a six year-old, she was thinking like a much older person. And her mind told her that she shouldn't be surprised; betrayed by her birth parents, nearly getting fed to a Dead Apostle, getting blood-adopted and eventually apprenticed by a magus from the Age of Gods – she wasn't a six year-old anymore. Not completely…

Sakura had brooded on that thought, along with the question the woman in black from her dreams had presented her: what did she want? And now that she had thought about it, what did she truly want? Yes, her mother wanted her to become the morning star, but then what? What would she do once she did? What would she do to become it? Would she regret it? And if so, did she truly want to be the morning star?

In any case that was detracting from the fact that she knew what had happened to Makoto. The rumours were all true, and he had in fact been killed by the serial killer along with his entire family. And worst of all…she hadn't felt remorse at his passing. Not completely; the lesser part of her that remained a child was horrified at the fate that had befallen the boy and his family, but the greater part of her – the part of her that was a magus and Medea's daughter – had been relieved that a future threat had been removed. And that was before she had ordered one of Assassin's incarnations to take the head of the serial killer. Not because of some sense of justice, but because he was dangerous and could hurt her friends. In other words…he was an enemy, and as such needed to be eliminated.

"Sakura-chan…" Kyoko asked, tilting her head to the side. "…is something wrong?"

"Hmmm…? Oh sorry I was just thinking...if you wanted to visit Ryuudo Temple after this?"

"Ryuudo Temple…?" Yui said, thinking it over with her spoon in her mouth. "Well it's not like I've got anything to do at home, so why not?"

"Is your mother there, Sakura-chan?" Kyoko asked. "If she is, then it would be polite to visit her while we're there."

"Okay…" Sakura replied, beaming at them. "…why don't we go right now?"

Nodding in agreement, the other girls stood and gathering their things, made to leave the store. Sakura continued to brood however, both on the question as well as her own internal conflict. As the three girls walked down the street, a hunched man wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled low over his face limped in the opposite direction. Yui and Kyoko were able to avoid him, but Sakura – buried as she was in her own thoughts – was not able to, clipping the man's arm with her shoulder and stumbling to her knees as a result.

"Ah…!" the man blurted out, coming to a halt and turned around, offering an emaciated hand to help her up. "Sorry 'bout that…I should have been paying more attention."

"It's alright…" Sakura said, accepting the offered hand and getting to her feet. As she did so, she caught a brief flash of the man's face. Something about it seemed very familiar to her. "…thanks for the help."

"No problem…" the man began to say only to break out coughing badly.

"Shouldn't you go see a doctor, mister?" Yui asked in concern, with Kyoko nodding her agreement. "That cough doesn't sound too good."

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." The man said, smiling at the concern showed by the girls before him. Despite all the pain he was feeling Kariya Matou felt a surge of relief through him at the thought that some good still existed in this world. Having said that, Kariya strode off, coughing as he went.

"That man should really see a doctor." Kyoko said worriedly. "He doesn't seem like a bad person, and I hope he'll be alright."

"Maybe he doesn't have any money?" Yui essayed, and then grimaced. "Dad always said that a lot of good people deserve better than they get in life. I never got him really…until now."

"There are public hospitals though…" Sakura said. "…I'm sure he already went to one of those. He did say he would be fine wouldn't he?"

"I hope so." Kyoko said, and with one last worried glance after the limping man, all three girls turned back to their original way.

Continuing to their destination, Kyoko and Yui pushed their concerns and memory of the sick man to the back of their mind. On the other hand, Sakura however had refocused her mind away from her own internal issues. "_There's no doubt about it._" She thought to herself, her mind already moving into the mind-set of a magus that a child of her age should not possess. "_That man was conducting prana. Could he be a Master? And that face…it couldn't have been Uncle Kariya! That man…why would he…why?_"

As far as Sakura knew, Kariya had abandoned his family when he was younger and striking out on his own. At the time, all she knew of the man was that he was that woman's childhood friend, one who occasionally visited and gave cheap toys for her and her sister whenever he did so. She hadn't understood – or cared – at the time his reasons…but now she did. How could she not, when she'd nearly been fed into the maw of a walking corpse that by all rights should be burned from the world? So the question now was: why? Why did that man return to that gods-forsaken family to represent them in this insane contest?

Making sure her friends couldn't see her, she pulled out a single strand of blue hair from her head and holding it in the palm of a hand, blew it away with a single breath. Suffused with her prana, the strand flew away on the breeze, climbing higher and higher up into the sky. Once out of sight, the strand folded and tied itself into an impossibly delicate butterfly form, which winged its way away to find Kariya Matou. And having found him, it followed him, obeying its mistress' will. Sakura Colchis had questions after all, and she would get answers, one way or another.

* * *

"Why do you always seek to aggravate that man?" Kirei asked while stepping into the room set aside for the King of Heroes in the Tohsaka Manor. The Tohsaka Clan was in an uproar at the moment, Rin being sent off to school while Tokiomi was trying to calm his wife. Which was an understatement really; Aoi had gone suicidal on her husband, and had barely been prevented from hanging herself in their bedroom. And then when Tokiomi and Kirei had finally managed to get her to sit down and try to reason with her…things had gone from bad to worse. Aoi had gone hysterical, grabbing a kitchen knife and charging at Tokiomi, shouting that everything was his fault and that she would kill him and then kill herself. Aghast, Tokiomi had been forced to use mental interference on her, placing her into a deep sleep. And then he had to go fix the matter of policemen finding the dead serial killer Uryuu Ryuunosuke. Or rather, the magic circles the little psychopath had been making from his victims' blood. Tokiomi had been putting out fires figuratively for a while now, as magic circles had been found at each of the crime scenes which needed an intervention by the Supervisor to cover up the existence (no matter how circumstantial the evidence was) of magic from the general public.

Needless to say the report had come at a bad time, and Tokiomi had left the house fuming angrily and leaving Kirei behind to keep an eye on Aoi lest he come home and find his wife hanging limply from the ceiling. To his shame, Kirei had found a certain degree of amusement at the thought, though he managed to suppress the desire to simply kill her himself and had tucked her into bed instead. And then the King of Heroes had appeared in front of him with a curious expression before asking him to step into his room.

"It amuses me." Gilgamesh answered Kirei's question, lounging in a chair by the window and holding a glass of wine in one hand. Tokiomi was many things, but at the very least the man had made appropriate arrangements when it came to providing appropriate luxuries for the King…if only barely. "The man is simply put…dull. He needs to learn to appreciate the many fine things life has to offer. Even I would not begrudge my subjects – whether they know it or not – the simple pleasures of life."

"Tokiomi is merely being a magus…" Kirei began, only to break off when Gilgamesh waved a hand dismissively.

"He believes himself a magus." Gilgamesh sneered. "But he is not. I know magi Kirei. I know of the wise and powerful masters of the arcane arts, those gifted with the power to divine the future from the stars and the swirl of fume, flame, blood and dreams, of bending the elements to their will, keepers and seekers of the secrets of the universe. Beggars of knowledge perhaps…but they were strong in their own right. Tokiomi is not. He is a beggar of knowledge, but he lacks strength. He lacks purity and elegance. Most of the so-called magi of this age are lacking Kirei, so much so that it offends me. But there are exceptions; Caster's child will be a fine witch queen one day and this Zelretch…ah! Zelretch…! Now there is a true magus! I will honour him with a personal audience should I get the chance to cross paths with him, for having defied that which should not be defied and stealing the secrets of the accursed gods for himself is truly a worthy reason for reward. And Lorelei Barthomeloi…I have read of her power. I wish to meet with her and gauge her beauty and strength for myself…perhaps she may prove worthy of my generosity; but enough of this! Kirei, I am curious: why do you follow Tokiomi, when he cannot give you the answers that you seek?"

Kirei blinked at the question. "I do not understand. I have no question…"

"Do not lie to the King, priest." Gilgamesh said, his voice momentarily going hard while taking a sip of wine. "I know you lie to me, for which you would merit a most deserving death…were it not for the curious fact that you lie to yourself, and in so doing intrigue me."

Kirei was silent, and smirking, the King continued. "Answer me Kirei, what will you gain when Tokomi achieves the Grail? What will you do afterwards, when that pathetic mongrel throws himself on the mercy of the Counter-Guardians in his pursuit of the Root? Will your questions be answered? Will you finally find what you seek?"

Smirking, the King dismissed the priest from his presence. "Contemplate my words, priest. Understand them, and find your true path. And when you have found it, return to me. We shall discuss this matter at length."

With those words, Kirei bowed and left the King of Heroes to himself.

* * *

Kariya coughed up blood as he made his way to a bench in a deserted park, the street lamps turning themselves on automatically as the Sun set and shadows lengthened across the park. Sinking to his knees and leaning against the bench, he coughed up some more blood and grimaced. He wouldn't last long at this rate…and then his thoughts were disrupted as intense pain tore through his body, the worms in him going into a devouring frenzy in their desire for further prana to sustain their horrid existences.

All conscious thought vanished in those moments, Kariya taking solace in the knowledge born of experience that the worms would not actually kill him – yet. So long as he had some use, Zouken would not allow his familiars to kill him, not yet. Until then, Kariya would live. And so long as he lived, hope still existed. That alone kept the dying man sane in those pain-filled moments, so painful that he didn't notice the bounded field going up around the park. He did however notice the small hands helping him up and laying him out on the bench, and urging him to drink a bitter yet soothing fluid from a cool glass vial.

As the pain eased away and consciousness returned, Kariya blinked both of his eyes. Surprised, he sat up and causing a startled girl standing beside him to back away. Kariya looked at her, eyeing her unusual attire and the empty vial in one hand. "Who are you?" he asked, wincing at the harshness in his voice; this girl was undoubtedly a magus, what with the bounded field he was only now noticing and the potion she had given him, but she had helped him. He should be thanking her and giving her a chance, and yet here he was, probably scaring her.

"Uncle Kariya…" the girl said, startling the man. "…why?"

Kariya raised an eyebrow in surprise, though he kept his silence as he regarded the unusual-looking girl before him. Apparently she knew him and quite well at that, actually calling him 'uncle'. Was his memory that bad already? No, there was nothing wrong with his memory, and he knew that he had distanced himself from the magi ever since he had forsaken his clan in disgust over its methods. So who…those eyes; Kariya hated those eyes. They belonged to the man who had taken the woman he loved from him, belonged to a man who would throw away an innocent child to a monster. But wait…two others possessed those eyes. Rin…Sakura…but their eyes had never been so alive, nor did they possess such hard eyes. Such hard eyes did not belong to a child…but…

"Sakura…" Kariya breathed. "…are you Sakura…?"

Sakura took a wary step back. "Uncle, why…? Why did you return to that monster?"

Kariya managed to look even more surprised before giving a rueful chuckle. "I was a fool, that's why."

"Did you…did that monster trick you into thinking that I…!"

"No…" Kariya interrupted, sitting up on the bench. "…he threatened to abduct your sister if I didn't cooperate. Zouken had given up on you, thankfully. He's many things, but he is no fool. Attempting to go up against a Servant is suicide, and your sister is quite vulnerable by comparison. Compared to you, who can summon your Servant to your side with but a thought, she is helpless for those times when she is not behind the wards and bounded fields of the Tohsaka Estate."

Sakura was silent, her eyes and face hard. Noticing it, Kariya smiled sadly. "You hate them, don't you?" he asked. "I don't blame you. It's only natural for a child to resent their parents when they are thrown away. But…don't blame Rin…"

"Why…?" Sakura angrily demanded. "She didn't…!"

"What could she have done?" Kariya countered, cutting through Sakura's tirade. "Could she really have changed your father's decision? And besides…Byakuya told me the story. If she hadn't taught that smallest bit of magic…you wouldn't be here right now, would you?"

Sakura's eyes widened at Kariya's words, her anger melting away. After several moments, she sighed and said "Sister…Rin…I owe her I suppose. And you're right, she couldn't have done anything."

Kariya smiled, and asked "I'm guessing that this bounded field is of your doing…? Not bad…"

Sakura smiled weakly. "It's a simple field." She explained, walking over to Kariya and sitting beside him. "It won't stop anyone from simply walking in or seeing and hearing us, but it will prevent anyone from spying on us by magical means. Unless they're better magi than mommy that is, which is impossible."

"Mommy…?" Kariya echoed. "I see; so Caster adopted you?"

Sakura nodded, and Kariya sighed resignedly. "I see; well I suppose it's for the best. She's teaching you magic, and from the look of things its powerful magic too. You'll be able to protect yourself – and those you love – when the time comes."

"Blood adoption…" Sakura said softly. "…it was painful, but it's alright. Mommy cares for me; she loves me and wants me, not like that woman."

Kariya felt torn at Sakura's words; on one hand he knew that Aoi did care for and love her children, but her complete submission to Tokiomi had proven a deadly flaw. Only Rin's minute teachings and Sakura's own desperate summoning of a Servant had prevented disaster. "I'm guessing you placed the curse on Aoi, huh?"

Sakura didn't say anything, merely clenching her fists in anger and expecting a rebuke from the man beside her…only to be surprised when he hugged her instead. "No, I won't blame you for it." Kariya said softly. "I don't blame you either for resenting her for not protecting you like a mother should."

"Uncle…" Sakura whispered, and Kariya let her go, smiling down at her.

"Don't worry; I'll fight to protect your sister. And just leave your father to me. Someone like you has no need to stain her hands with the blood of that bastard. Just promise me one thing: don't be like your father. Promise me…"

Sakura nodded. That much was certain; she would not become her father. She might be as cruel and ruthless as her mother one day – which she already was starting to become – but she would never be as soulless like that man. "…I promise."

Kariya nodded and said "One last question then: are you happy Sakura?"

Sakura smiled, and said "Yes, I'm very happy."

* * *

A/N

What, did you really think Kirei would not be twisted by Gilgamesh? Don't be absurd; the series is dark and this story does not change that. Although instead of being the story of a man (Kiritsugu) who was betrayed by his ideals, this is the story of a girl (Sakura) who lost her innocence as she walked down a dark path to gain the power she desires to make her dreams come true.

BTW, the last line of this chapter is also the last line of the Heaven's Feel true ending, with Rin posing the question to Sakura. I wonder how canon Sakura would react if she meets AU Sakura though…

Finally just to avoid conclusion over something in this chapter, I am aware that Gilgamesh does not know that Tokiomi intends to force him to commit suicide (until Kirei actually tells him). However, as far as I know, he is aware of Tokiomi's wish.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 10

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Sakura asked Kariya, who just smiled at her. "You could come with me you know; mommy will understand, and she might even make allowances for you."

"It's tempting…" Kariya said, still slightly unnerved at how the girl in front of him was speaking like she wasn't a six year-old but masking it well. "…but I can't. If I did, Zouken would go after your sister. I can't let that happen."

Sakura looked unhappy for a moment before sighing and saying "You're a good man uncle. You deserve better than this."

"Thanks…" Kariya said, beginning to hobble away. "…but I'm not nearly as good as you think I am. If I were, then I'd have found a way to stop Aoi from falling into Tokiomi's hands in the first place. Good night Sakura, and stay safe."

Sakura looked after the man as he walked off on his own, and turning and walking the other way, dispersed the bounded field. And in that instant things went straight to hell. Kariya collapsed screaming to the ground, causing Sakura to whirl around to face the man, her face expressing shock and surprise at the sight.

"_Kariya…_" Zouken's voice echoed in Kariya's mind. "_…what have you been hiding from me?_"

"_Screw you old man! Get out of my head; I might have let your filthy familiars use my body as a nest, but my mind's still my own!_" Kariya shouted back silently, only to be met with spectral laughter.

"_We shall see…_" Zouken responded ominously. And then the pain spiked, red-hot knives striking at all of Kariya's nerve endings simultaneously even as a foreign consciousness tore its way into the man's head. "_…perhaps I might have overestimated you, Kariya. If you won't cooperate with me and tell me what I want, perhaps you're better off as a mindless puppet._"

"…_never…_" Kariya thought through the haze of pain, which only further intensified.

"_Just let go my boy…_" Zouken's voice whispered silkily with faux concern. "_…I'm sure that you'll find life easier without any free will. If you do, then I might even let you have your way with little Rin once I break her in._"

As he said this, an image of Rin lying broken and helpless in the pit appeared in the horrified man's mind, her body being crawled over and defiled by the countless Matou familiars, her eyes lifeless and dead. Then the image shifted, showing a nude and purple-haired Rin lying in bed, sweating and with purpled eyes glazed over with lust, causing Kariya's mind to recoil in horror. "_Oh that's right…_" Zouken said cruelly, his voice reminiscent as though remembering something important just then. "_…you prefer Sakura don't you? Easy enough I suppose; I'll have your Servant cut off her arm with her command spells and bring her back. Repairing her would be child's play, and we can get on with what needs to be done._"

The images in Kariya's mind shifted again, this time showing Sakura in Rin's place. Kariya screamed in denial, thrashing about on the ground in reality as his mind desperately struggled to expel Zouken's consciousness. "_Get away from Uncle Kariya, monster!_" Sakura's thoughts came out of nowhere, Kariya realizing in horror that the girl was now holding onto him in reality while linking her mind with his to help him fight Zouken.

"_No Sakura…!_" Kariya screamed mentally. "_Get away…!_"

"_Too late…_" Zouken gloated, simultaneously pressing his mental assault on Kariya while ripping through Sakura's fledgling mental barriers like a hot knife through butter, fending off the girl's simplistic defences with ease. "_...ah, Divine Words. That's a most useful sorcery trait you have here…foolish child. Even if you've circumvented the limitations of modern magecraft, the burden of your mysteries remains even if they aren't borne by your magic circuits. Powerful as you might yet become, at this moment you are as nothing compared to me; and now, you…are…mine…_"

Sakura screamed, Zouken's consciousness crushing onto her mind and overriding her control over her own body…if not for Kariya's presence. "You…" he grated out, desperation and sheer willpower overriding the mind-crushing pain experienced by his body. "…will…not…take…her…!"

With a supreme, final effort of will, Kariya pushed Sakura away from him, cutting off the connection between himself and the girl, and by extension with Zouken. The fragment of the vampire's consciousness in Sakura's mind wilted away, and deprived of a guiding intelligence behind it, was vengefully crushed by Sakura's rebuilding defences. Angered, Zouken redoubled his efforts to take control of Kariya's body, causing the man to spasm as though possessed, control over the familiars in his body being fought over by two opposed wills. Despite the lingering pain in her head, Sakura staggered to her feet, one hand reaching for the mystic code that would teleport her in an instant back to Mt Ryuudo while folding back all but the index and middle fingers of her other hand, which immediately began to crackle with elemental lightning. It would be a strain, but if Zouken took over Kariya's body, then she would destroy it in one shot. Far better that Kariya die than live on as a vampire's mindless slave.

With a final scream of defiance, Kariya wrenched control of the worms in him from Zouken, several blood vessels close to the surface of his skin exploding in a shower of blood. To Sakura's horror, writhing worm familiars tore themselves free of the man's flesh, before mutating into monstrous, winged forms that immediately buzzed around the man. Sakura took a step back, bracing herself and aimed her fingers – pulsing brightly with power – at Kariya.

"…are…alright?" Kariya gasped out, and Sakura's eyes widened. Staggering back, Kariya wiped away blood dripping from his chin before collapsing in an exhausted heap on the ground.

"Uncle…?"

"Yeah, it's still me." Kariya said, breathing heavily. His body still hurt like hell, but now that he had complete control over his familiars, they were now actually healing him instead of simply eating away at him. It was disgusting, but it was better than slowly dying from them. "I took control of the familiars in me. I don't like it, but them under my control beats them being under Zouken's control any day."

He smiled ruefully at Sakura, who didn't return the smile, merely sighing as she dispersed the charged lightning. "Uncle, are you sure you don't want to go with me? I…mommy can help, you know."

"I'm sure." Kariya said darkly. "Zouken's not going to be happy for what I've done, and if I don't stay away from you, he'll find a way to use you or your sister against me. I'm sorry…"

Sakura looked away at that, and closed her eyes. "Alright then…" she said, looking back at him sadly. "…I hope that we won't ever have to face each other on the battlefield, because then we'll be enemies. I…I'll help mommy crush your Servant if that happens, though I'll do what I can to avoid killing you. Goodbye uncle…"

Pressing down on the mystic code in her hand, Sakura vanished from Kariya's sight. Sighing, the man bent over from leftover pain, before having one of his flying familiars come closer to him. "Go back to the Matou Estate." He told it. "Warn Zouken against any attempt to break our agreement. Tell him that I will obtain the Holy Grail, but if he even tries to come near Aoi, Rin, or Sakura, then I'll use my command spells to order Berserker to kill him and every last one of his disgusting familiars, and to hell with the Holy Grail."

Having said what he wanted to say, Kariya dismissed the familiar, which flew off into the night. Grimacing at the sharp pain he felt with every movement, Kariya staggered to his feet and hobbled off. Sakura was safe…Sakura was happy…Rin…Kariya growled angrily, vowing to obtain the Holy Grail. But he wouldn't give it to Zouken. Oh no…he would use it to destroy both Zouken and Tokiomi. Caster being Sakura's mother could prove problematic, but he'd deal with that issue when the time came. For now though, he had another issue: he needed prana to sustain himself and his Servant.

"Damn it all…" Kariya cursed, as he made his way to a payphone, hoping to find a map of the city. He needed prana, and the best and quickest way to find it would be to drain people of their prana. But he wasn't Zouken…he wouldn't involve innocents in this. Fuyuki had a prison of its own right? One full of convicts…thinking about the whole thing made the man sick to his stomach, but for the sake of those important to him, he would have to do what he needed to do.

* * *

The recently-repaired front of the entrance to Castle von Einzbern exploded inwards, a tall man in black calmly walking through the rubble and clouds of dust trailed by a massive blob of liquid metal. "I am Kayneth El-Melloi…" the enemy introduced himself, loudly proclaiming his identity to an apparently empty entrance hall. "…the ninth head of the House of Archibald. I have come to challenge the House of Einzbern for the Holy Grail in an honourable battle between magi."

Silence met the mage-lord's proclamation, the magus' eyes narrowing and his face hardening as he surveyed his surroundings. Noticing a nearby wall-mounted camera centre its focus on him, Kayneth smirked arrogantly before calmly continuing into the hall, his mystic code flowing along beside him. The man had barely taken a few steps into the hall before a series of explosions ripped across the entire hall, filling it with lethal shrapnel…lethal to anyone unprepared, that is. "Traps…?" Kayneth asked rhetorically, his mystic code melting away from the spherical, encompassing form it had taken on to protect its user from harm. "You would go so low, von Einzbern? If you wish to send all honour to the void…then so be it!"

In an antechamber in the floor above the entrance hall, Kiritsugu Emiya stepped away from the surveillance screens and holstered his weapons…and noticed a pulsing stream of liquid metal flow to and from the door. "Remote sensing…?" he said, recognizing the purpose behind the stream and stepping away from the centre table as blindingly fast and razor-thin blades of liquid metal cut through the floor, before elevating Kayneth on a platform-like pedestal up to face Kiritsugu.

"I've found you…" Kayneth said coolly, Kiritsugu responding with his MP5 on full auto. The Magus Killer emptied an entire clip against his enemy, only for not one of his bullets to pierce Kayneth's defences. "…scalp!" Kayneth barked once Kiritsugu had ceased fire, metallic tentacles lancing out towards the Magus Killer.

"Time accel…double!" Kiritsugu hissed, blurring past Kayneth and avoiding being impaled with extreme prejudice by his attack.

* * *

"I see; so that's what he does." Medea commented with satisfaction as she watched from the safety of her stronghold. Sakura stood beside her, having dispensed with her cloak although her white dress was still spotted with Kariya's blood. Medea had not asked, though Sakura was certain her mother would make an inquiry be it sooner or later. "To think the Magus Killer specializes in the realm of time; despite appearances, that man did not simply increase the speed with which his body moved. He created a reality marble using his own body to define the limitations of the bounded field within which the rate of time's passage can be controlled to the user's satisfaction."

"…reality marble?" Sakura asked.

"Ah yes, that's a bit advanced isn't it, dearest?" Medea responded with a fond smile. "A reality marble essentially is a mental image superimposed over the real world. This mental image is naturally one's own inner world, a reflection of one's true self. However, since the reality marble is basically a perversion of the natural world, the world itself exerts pressure on it and steadily wears away at it. Without a constant supply of prana, the reality marble will eventually collapse. And since no magi have unlimited prana, well I'm sure you can get the rest."

"It's just like projection then." Sakura said, and Medea nodded in affirmation. "But if reality marbles are worn away by the world, and he's using his own body to define the reality marble, wouldn't that mean…?"

"…that his body would be made to suffer payment for temporal reconciliation upon cancellation of the spell?" Medea finished. "I would expect that would indeed be the case. Take a look my dear…" she said, pointing at Kiritsugu as he leaned against an alcove gasping for breath, an expression of enduring pain clear on his face. "…see as his body struggles as 'his' time is reconciled with 'greater' time."

"Despite its flaws it's a wonderful magic." Sakura opined, and Medea again nodded in agreement.

"That it is."

* * *

Shouting her battle cry, Sabre charged to meet Lancer head on, her sword held in a low guard. Likewise, Lancer raised Gae Buidhe and stabbed it at his enemy's head, the golden spear barely being parried inches away from Sabre's face by her invisible blade. Taking advantage of the lack of distance between herself and Lancer, Sabre launched a spirited counterattack, swinging her sword expertly at Lancer's neck once, twice, and thrice – all of which were dodged by the spearman, who took advantage of a momentary lapse in her attention to launch a fresh attack, Gae Buidhe stabbing towards her heart.

The Knight of the Sword deflected the strike to the side, but lost her footing in the process. Staggering back, she left herself open to a kick from Lancer, which connected with her midsection and forced her back. Not one to let an opening pass, Lancer leapt into the offensive, jumping forward and once again stabbing at her head. Rather than meet the enemy head on, Sabre fell back, causing Lancer's eyes to narrow unhappily.

"What's wrong Sabre?" Lancer demanded. "Your swings lack spirit, and your eyes betray inner turmoil. Have you lost your way, Sabre? If so, then find what you need to find within yourself to fight! At this rate you will lose…however, even if I am honour-bound to slay you in service to my lord, such a victory will prove meaningless if the preceding battle is not one between equals! Therefore Sabre, I beg of you, find yourself!"

"_Have I really lost myself?_" Sabre silently asked herself, gritting her teeth in frustration. "_Have I become a shadow of myself?_" Shaking her head, she shouted her battle cry and charged, swinging her sword diagonally down at Lancer who grimaced as he barely succeeded in parrying the sheer strength of Sabre's attack, and even then he was buffeted hard by the winds wrapped around the sword.

"I feel your spirit wane as you strike at me." Lancer said mournfully, falling back into his stance and launching his own attack, stabbing once more at Sabre's heart. "So be it then, Sabre. It saddens me, but I will do what I must."

* * *

"My, my…" Medea commented with an amused tone. "…it would seem that my words have struck deeper than I expected, if Sabre's spirit has waned to this extent."

"Did you tell her something, mother?" Sakura asked, and Medea merely shrugged.

"I merely pointed out her flaws as a person. Altria Pendragon sacrificed her Humanity for the sake of her ideals. How foolish…this might seem a trifle harsh, but in that light she was no different from mongrel magi who turn themselves into Dead Apostles. A King who is not a Human cannot rule over Humanity."

"…but…Sabre…King Arthur…"

"It wasn't that her ideals were wrong Sakura." Medea said with a sigh, adopting a more understanding tone of voice. "What is wrong was that she believed that her ideals were some sort of holy writ to be followed regardless of the cost. That cannot be so my child. By definition, an ideal is something that cannot exist within reality. That is why it is called an ideal. It is merely a guide for one's actions, which must be compromised should it prove necessary. Let me warn you now dearest: when you finally claim your place among the stars, your hands will drip with blood. But it is that blood that will keep you Human, for it will remind you of the cost of your ascendance, a sign that you must never turn back so as to give meaning to all the sacrifices you have made and to honour all who stood by you. It is the proof of your Humanity."

Medea turned to look at Sakura in the eyes and said "Remember this Sakura, no matter how far you go, no matter how high you reach, and no matter how powerful you become, always treasure your Humanity. Remember that even during the Age of Gods, it wasn't the gods who changed the world. Yes, they ruled over it and Mankind, but it was heroes with Human spirits who defined the era, and even when it ultimately came to an end, it was still followed - regardless of how dull and mundane it is - by the Age of Man. Only Humans can change the world, so never forget it, and never forgive those mongrels who threw away their Humanity. They are below you, and should be treated as such."

"I understand, mother." Sakura said, and while there were still signs of turmoil in her eyes, Medea hoped and believed that Sakura would be able to find her answer. Satisfied for the time being, the sorceress turned her attention back to the ongoing battle.

* * *

"Where is he?" Kayneth raged as he stalked through the shattered corridors of Castle von Einzbern, his mystic code lashing out with tentacles of dense, liquid metal, its master angered by the impudence of the enemy spell-caster. Abruptly, the man paused and with a triumphant smirk, slowly turned and hissed "I've found you, rat!"

In response, Kiritsugu stepped out from behind a nearby pillar and levelled his MP5. "You certainly cannot be expecting your previous attack to work." Kayneth sneered, running a hand through his hair in a failing effort to regain his composure. "Landing a single blow on my person…it wasn't due to superior tactics or ability. It was simply luck and coincidence!"

Eyes bulging, the magus continued to rant "I won't kill you quickly. I'm going to use healing magic to put you back together, only to tear you apart again and again at my leisure. And all that time you will curse and rant in vain, wallowing in regret at letting yourself be hired by the disgraced…!"

Without batting an eyelid or saying a single word, Kiritsugu interrupted Kayneth's insane ravings by opening fire with his MP5, only for the mage-lord's mystic code to soak up his bullets harmlessly…even as Kiritsugu used his other hand to level his prized Thompson Contender loaded with his trump card at the enemy. And the moment the MP5's clip was expended, he pulled the trigger on the Thompson, and smirked. "_Checkmate…_" Kiritsugu thought triumphantly.

* * *

Roaring, Lancer stabbed at Sabre with Gae Buidhe, following up the parried strike with broad swings and deep stabs that took advantage of the golden lance's superior length to hem Sabre in and finally, knock her sword from her hands. Disarmed, Sabre was barely able to avoid a killing blow from Gae Buidhe, only for her enemy to sweep her legs out from under her with a sweeping kick of his own. Knocked down to the ground, Sabre, Irisiviel, and Maiya could only watch in horror as Lancer drew back his lance and aimed at her face.

"I apologize…" Lancer said, stabbing down at her. "…for striking you down!"

Sabre closed her eyes, bracing herself for the end…but it never came. Blinking her eyes open, she found that Lancer was no longer before her. "Lancer retreated…but why?" Irisviel essayed in surprise. Sabre for her part merely grit her teeth in anger and frustration. Lancer was right; she had lost herself, and as a result had nearly been slain but for a yet unexplained reason. And worst of all, she had been disarmed on the field of battle, something that had never happened since she was a child training under her step-brother Kay, and something that had never happened to her as a king. "Damn it all…!" she spat, punching the ground angrily before screaming out her rage and frustration to the uncaring stars.

* * *

"Well that was a surprising outcome." Medea noted with her voice tinged with curiosity. "That mage-lord managed to block the attack but was defeated regardless. What an interesting weapon…Assassin, once Emiya has left the corridor bring me the projectile he used against the Lord El-Melloi, as well as a sample of the lord's mystic code."

"Yes my Master."

Sakura however was deep in thought. "_The attack was blocked, but the Lord El-Melloi was defeated badly, just by the amount of blood he vomited out._" Closing her eyes, she remembered watching as her mother forced Berserker to retreat during the battle at the docks, the beams of light lancing down to the ground turning buildings into smoking craters and leaving roads as rubble-strewn and burning trenches. She remembered the awesome sensation of holding lightning in her hands, and the uplifting sensation of flight. She remembered the horror beneath the Matou Estate, and she remembered Zouken's mind crushing down on her own earlier that very night.

And she remembered seeing the terrifying vision of what might have been during that brief moment she had entered Kariya's mind, and for a few moments she saw Yui and Kyoko in her place within the vision. "Knowledge is the key to the power of the Divine Words…" she whispered, not noticing her mother's purple eyes turning to her. "…therefore knowledge is power: the power to control my future, and to protect those important to me. I have my answer; I know what I want."

And Medea smiled. "_That's a good girl._"

* * *

A/N

I strongly doubt that in canon Lancer would have actually apologized to Sabre if he had defeated and killed her. However, he's apologizing here because he had defeated and was about to kill her while she wasn't fighting at her peak (how could she be when she's been broken by Caster and Rider).

And no, Medea has no intention of backstabbing Sakura (regardless of how sinister the last line of this chapter seems). She will eventually show her stripes as the treacherous elf we all know and love but not against Sakura (who is being shepherded down a dark path by Medea regardless of what noble intentions are behind her desire for power).


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 11

Hip music played from the TV speakers as the screen showed the letters 'JNN' horizontally scrolling and settling over an image of the globe. The image then shifted to show a pleasantly-smiling news reporter sitting behind a desk. "Good morning…" the reporter said with a respectful bow. "…this is JNN News. On breaking news this morning, we have the recent break-in last night at the Fuyuki Central Penitentiary. According to the latest statement from the Fuyuki Police PR Officer, all 527 inmates in the regular confinement areas have been incapacitated for yet unknown reasons and have yet to regain consciousness. Furthermore, all 132 inmates in the maximum security section are all confirmed to have been killed from a variety of causes, ranging from dismemberment to bludgeoning. However, we have also confirmed that all law enforcement and security personnel stationed at the facility have been recovering steadily, however no leads as to the perpetrators behind the break-in have yet to be uncovered…"

Murmuring and whispers broke out among the crowd on the street below as the pedestrians discussed among themselves this rather disturbing piece of morning news. None of them noticed or gave a second glance at the frowning man in a blue hoody walk past with his hands in his pockets. That is not to say the Kariya didn't hear the report as he walked by. If someone had been paying attention, they might have seen the frown on the man's face darken by a considerable fraction. Doing what he had done the previous night had left a foul taste in his mouth, but it had to be done. He would crush Tokiomi, and for that he needed power. And when the time came to take responsibility, he would freely accept judgment for what he'd done.

In any case, he'd tried to restrain himself as best he could. He'd kept the regular prisoners alive after draining them of most of their life force by means of his evolved familiars – although he'd had no problem letting Berserker loose on the death row inmates and consume as much power he could on his own – while using those same familiars to take control of the prison crews and wiping the surveillance system – and their memories – of any evidence of his presence. It had been tempting to just kill everyone, but if he did that he'd be no better than Zouken. In any case he'd gathered more than enough prana to completely heal his body and sustain his familiars and Servant alike.

Kariya was confident that if he faced Tokiomi now, Berserker would be more than capable of fighting Archer and winning. The problem was that despite his healed body and fully-controlled familiars, Kariya was more than aware that as a magus – though he'd be the first to admit (and would do so eagerly) that he was no magus and more of a spell-caster – he was no match for Tokiomi in a one-on-one battle.

The best way of shifting the balance of battle would be to simultaneously fight Tokiomi while Berserker was fighting Archer. By doing so, he hoped the prana drain on Tokiomi would reduce the difference in power between the two of them, and hopefully allow Kariya's familiars a chance to close and drain the man's remaining prana. Once Tokiomi had been drained of his prana, crushing Archer would be child's play – at least Kariya hoped so – and he could deal with the helpless Tokiomi at his leisure.

Taking advantage of the crowd with the ease of long experience, Kariya slipped from the street and down a side alley. Making sure no one was nearby to notice, the man grimaced and summoned one of his familiars, a blood vessel in his arm bulging and then rupturing explosively as a worm writhed its way clear of his body, the wound closing up unnaturally fast behind it much to Kariya's disgust. "_I have become a monster._" He thought sadly. "_I'm unworthy of you Aoi…or are you worthy of me, or for that matter Rin and Sakura? I can't fault you for marrying Tokiomi since it was probably arranged by your family, but I certainly can fault you for mindlessly following Tokiomi and simply throwing away your own flesh and blood._"

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Kariya focused on the familiar writhing at his foot. Channelling his prana, the worm began to mutate, its carapace hardening as its body lengthened and grew more complex, sprouting wings and legs. Finally, the evolution was completed and Kariya looked with hardened eyes on his familiar as it flew in front of his face. "Keep an eye on Tokiomi and his Servant…" the spell-caster ordered it. "…avoid entering the bounded fields protecting the Tohsaka Estate. Don't let the man discover you, and the same goes for his wife and daughter."

With a move reminiscent of a nod, the familiar flew off, and Kariya stalked off.

* * *

"I hate math." Yui complained unhappily, taking a drink from a juice box through a straw. "I hate fractions especially."

"I don't know…" Sakura responded, slumping over her desk. "…I like math to be honest."

"Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Kyoko asked in concern. "You're usually more energetic than this."

"I slept late last night. My mom and I were talking about a few things. Family matters and the like…"

"That's nice." Kyoko said a bit sadly. "My parents are rarely at home. Usually they're only home during the weekend, and they tend to go on overseas business trips from time to time. But they're really nice whenever they're home."

"I'm jealous." Sakura said. "Your parents may not be there all the time, but from the look of they really do care for you. Mommy cares for me, but daddy…"

Yui and Kyoko didn't say anything, understanding that it was a sensitive topic, instead opting to look at each other – and in the process missing a flash of hatred across Sakura's face at the word 'daddy' – before looking with sympathy at Sakura. "Hey Sakura-chan…" Yui began cautiously. "…do you want go and watch a football game this weekend? My brother's team is playing and well…"

"That sounds good!" Sakura said, brightening up.

"Isn't it…? Hey Kyoko-chan…"

Sakura let her friends' conversation fade away into the background as she thought back to her conversation with her mother earlier that morning…

_Flashback Begins_

_Sakura was buttoning up her uniform blouse when her mother appeared, looking like a cat that had caught the mouse. An eyebrow rose at the sight, something that didn't fail to catch the sorceress' attention as she kneeled down and made some adjustments to Sakura's uniform. "Wondering why I'm so happy, dearest?" she asked, and Sakura nodded._

"_I just finished taking apart Emiya's little toy." She said gleefully. "Well calling it a toy would actually be very disrespectful, as I actually found it much, much more impressive than even the Grail of this little city we're in right now. The alchemy was cunningly done, so deceptively simple that it actually took me a few hours to figure it out. Using Human matter – perhaps bone or nervous tissue – as a raw ingredient and alchemically condensing and altering it into a bullet form, Emiya created a deceptively small and unassuming conceptual weapon with devastating power."_

"_Conceptual weapon…?"_

"_A conceptual weapon is a kind of mystic code." Medea explained patiently. "It's a weapon that imposes a specific concept upon the target. Such weapons are made for the purpose of fighting and striking against enemies that cannot be fought or harmed by mundane means."_

"_So what concepts did Emiya use?"_

"_Two actually…" Medea said, her gleeful smile returning. "…I don't know who it was – considering what the bullets were made from – but whoever he got the raw material from had a dual origin."_

"_A dual origin…!" Sakura said in surprise, her eyes going wide. "But that's incredibly rare!"_

"_Oh really…?" Medea responded with a crafty expression on her face. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. After all, one such person with a dual, no, make that a quadruple origin is standing in front of me right now."_

_Sakura drew herself up haughtily. "I'm special!" she said smugly and with a matching expression, causing Medea to laugh with approving amusement._

"_That's true." She said with a smile and ruffling her daughter's hair. "Going back to the question of the nature of Emiya's conceptual weapon, the origins of the person behind it are severing and binding."_

_Sakura blinked, and then asked "Severing and binding…? Those are unusual concepts for a person to have as origins. And what effect would those concepts have on an enemy in any case?"_

"_I'm still busy with my simulations…" Medea said thoughtfully. "…right now I'm not sure what effect such a conceptual weapon would have on enemies other than those usually faced by Emiya, specifically magi considering his title of 'Magus Killer'. When used against ordinary Humans, the weapon would have no other effects other than those of a normal bullet's. However, when used against magi it becomes a monstrously powerful weapon. Judging from the effect it had on the Lord El-Melloi and my own simulations, the amount of damage depends on how many magic circuits are active upon impact. Whether it strikes the enemy magus directly or at an active mystery, the concepts of severing and binding are imposed on both the mystery and the magic circuits. Mysteries are disrupted…but while mysteries can be re-enacted given time and opportunity, the same cannot be said of magic circuits."_

_Medea smiled viciously. "Any and all active magic circuits are simultaneously torn apart and fused together. It would be akin to melting fine gold filament and then letting it cool and harden into a shapeless mass. And considering that magic circuits are akin to nerves, the effect it has on the Human body would leave one a helpless cripple, if not killing one outright. What a vicious and cruel weapon…I like it. In many ways it resembles my own Noble Phantasm, Rule Breaker."_

"_So that's why the Lord El-Melloi collapsed." Sakura said with dawning understanding. "His nervous system must have been left in ruins, and even if he's still alive…"_

"…_he's nothing more than a husk now." Medea finished with cruel relish. "I assume that all his magic circuits at the time were active, given how intent he was on killing Emiya. If so, then it means that all of them have been destroyed, and that he can no longer perform magic. For a magus, there is no worse fate than to be stripped of one's magic. It is a tragic end worthy of a play."_

"_Mom…" Sakura said in concern. "…if that weapon is used against us…"_

"_Fear not my child…" Medea interrupted reassuringly. "…while that weapon could certainly disrupt all but our mightiest mysteries – which could shrug them off due to their massive accumulated histories – it will have no effect on either of our bodies."_

"_Why not…?"_

"_Well, that's an interesting thought exercise for you Sakura. Meditate on the nature of the Divine Words, and you will have your answer."_

"_Okay…" Sakura said with a nod and turned to leave, only to pause as a thought occurred to her._

"_Is something wrong?"_

"_What about the Lord El-Melloi's mystic code?" Sakura asked, turning to face her mother. "Didn't Assassin recover a sample?"_

"_Hmmm…" Medea mused thoughtfully. "…compared to Emiya, the Lord El-Melloi's mystic code was rather average. His application of the concept of flow and fluidity was impressive I have to admit, though the mystic code is rather lacking in my opinion. It may just be a matter of personal taste, but find the idea of a mystic code optimized for melee combat to be rather crude."_

_Sakura just smiled at those words, remembering her mother's preference to simply bomb her enemy into submission with A-Rank High Thaumaturgy. She couldn't fault her (and she didn't want to either), and in any case she too had a similar preference, though her preference was for lightning. In her opinion, there was nothing better than a blast of lightning to smite one's foe with._

"…_the defensive function is rather lacking as well." Medea continued. "A millimetre-thin sheet of prana-infused mercury or a bamboo forest-like array of mercury cabling may seem an excellent defence, but in my experience an instantaneously-deployable shield spell like the one we use is superior, as not only can it respond quicker than a physics-bound metal sheet – especially with Divine Words – but cannot be broken through by any mundane attack or magical attack with a weaker rank than the spell itself."_

_Medea sighed and looked at Sakura. "Well, I have a few ideas I'd like to test out, but that's a matter for later. Go on Sakura, or you'll be late for school."_

_Sakura made a face at that, and Medea looked at her sternly. "No Sakura, you have to go to school. You can help me with the mercury applications when you get home later on, but you have to be elsewhere right now."_

_Sakura brightened up at the last sentence and said "Alright then, I'm going! Bye…!"_

"_Bye…and stay safe dear…" Medea said while smiling and waving as her daughter ran off._

_Flashback Ends_

"Colchis-san…Colchis-san…" the teacher's voice broke through, and Sakura stood up in surprise. To her embarrassment, lunch break had ended and class had already started.

"Are you alright, Colchis-san?" the teacher asked. "Or would you like to go the clinic?"

"Yes…" Sakura said with an apologetic bow. "…I'm sorry for falling asleep, but mother and I were talking late last night and um…"

The teacher just sighed and said "Well I suppose considering your family issues, I suppose I can let this go for now. Just inform your mother to keep in mind that certain expectations are expected from the students, Colchis-san."

"Yes…once again, I'm very sorry." Sakura said with another bow.

"Alright settle down everyone." The teacher said, turning to the chalkboard. "Moving on…"

* * *

Kayneth's eyes flashed open as he awoke, his last conscious memory being of excruciating pain tearing through his flesh as a result of Emiya's attack. But why…didn't he succeed in blocking that disgrace of magus' attack, but afterwards…

"A dream…?" Kayneth whispered, recalling vague memories of people, voices, and events. "No, that was Diarmuid's legend. My Servant's memories…"

Struggling to move, Kayneth grimaced as agony briefly flashed through his body. "Where am I?" he demanded, noticing that he was bound tightly to a gurney.

"You're awake." Sola observed as she entered the room.

"Sola…!" Kayneth ground out through a haze of pain. "What is this?"

"You don't remember?" Sola asked as she placed a basin of water on a nearby bed and soaked a towel in the liquid.

"I…" Kayneth essayed, struggling to remember. "…I was shot. I defended myself using Volumen Hydragyrum but…what happened after that?"

"It would seem that your magic circuits have been burned out." Sola said, washing Kayneth's arm with the wet towel, but unseen to Kayneth there was a malicious glint in the woman's eyes. "It's a miracle that you didn't die then and there."

Agony, shame, and grief filled the stricken man's mind, Kayneth grinding his teeth as tears ran from his eyes in grief over the loss of his magic. For a magus of a distinguished bloodline going back centuries, there were few things that could be considered more painful to lose. "I managed to restore your organs to functionality, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for your magic circuits." Sola continued. "You'll never be able to perform magic ever again."

"I…I…"

"Don't cry Kayneth." Sola said with a smile, and had Kayneth's mind not been clouded at that point he'd have noticed that unusual gleam in the woman's eyes even as she wiped the tears from his face. "It's too soon to give up. We haven't lost yet."

"Sola…"

"If the Holy Grail truly has the power to grant wishes…" Sola proclaimed solemnly. "…then restoring what you've lost should be an easy matter. You only need to win, and everything will be back to how it was. That's why Kayneth: give me your command spells. I'll become Lancer's Master, and bring you the Holy Grail."

Kayneth's eyes widened in horror at Sola's words; apart from the dangers of involving her directly in the Holy Grail War, it had not escaped his attention that she was clearly infatuated with Lancer. It could not be allowed. He would not allow it. "N-No…!"

"You don't believe in me? You don't believe in the woman who would marry into the House of Archibald?" Sola asked, Kayneth finally noticing the malicious glint of her eyes and smile of her lips.

"No…but…Sola, do you really think that Lancer would abandon me and swear himself to you?"

"Of course I do." Sola said, washing the hand marked with Kayneth's command spells. "He is a Heroic Spirit brought into the world by the power of the Holy Grail. He seeks the Grail like we do. Even if it means changing allegiances, he will do it for the sake of the Grail."

"Sola…!" Kayneth cried out. "Lancer isn't what you think he is!"

"What makes you say that?"

"When I asked him what he sought, he merely said that he had no interest in the Holy Grail." Kayneth ground out in disbelieving anger. "There is no such thing as a Servant without a desire. It is impossible! He's hiding something, but so long as I bear my command spells, then he has no choice but to obey me!"

"Kayneth…"

"I will not give you my command spells." The mage-lord said firmly, and with a tone that clearly said that there would be no further discussion on the matter.

Sola sighed with resignation, and said "Kayneth, don't you understand? We must win, no matter what." Dropping the wet towel to the floor, and to Kayneth's horror, she took hold of his little finger and pulled. She pulled it until it had reached its limit, and with a popping of torn ligaments and breaking cartilage, it bent back in a way it was never meant to bend. To his credit, Kayneth didn't once cry out, merely staring in horror as the woman he loved broke his fingers. "Listen well Kayneth…" Solar said darkly. "…not even a skilled spiritual doctor such as myself am capable of removing command spells on my own. I can only take them with the permission of the original owner. Under normal circumstances, that is: Kayneth, if you will not comply, then I will have no choice but to simply remove your entire right arm. Well, what will it be?"

* * *

"Lady Sola…" Lancer asked, walking up to where she was looking up at the Moon. "…how is my lord's condition?"

"I'm not certain to be honest." Sola replied, and then noticed Lancer's resulting downcast expression. "Don't be so hard on yourself! It wasn't your fault that he got himself hurt so badly fighting Sabre's Master."

"No, but…"

"Diarmuid…" Sola said, turning to and walking towards him. "…he is unworthy of being your Master." Lancer looked at her with mounting horror, recognizing the self-evident signs of a woman affected by his mystic face much to his own self-disgust. "He has abandoned the contest." Sola pressed, holding up her arm and displaying the command spells she had taken from the fallen mage-lord. "I am your Master now."

Lancer was silent, and then sighing, said "I have already pledged myself to Lord Kayneth. On my honour as a knight, I cannot acknowledge you as my Master."

"But why…!" Sola demanded angrily. "Have you not been sustained all this time by my prana? And now I have your command spells!"

"I am a knight before a Servant." Lancer said resolutely, refusing to look at her. "I am already sworn to one lord."

"Are you saying that I am unworthy to be your Master?"

"That's not what I…"

"Look at me!" Sola shouted, her eyes tearing at the thought that Lancer was ashamed to look at her. "Lancer, please…win the Holy Grail by my side. Protect me…"

Lancer glanced at her briefly, reminded of his tragic romance with Grainne, before turning and walking away from her. "If Kayneth has abandoned this contest, then I have no reason to fight any further."

"We need a miracle to help him!" Sola shouted after him, stopping him in his footsteps. Sola for her part was reduced to tears, unwilling to accept why Lancer would not accept her. "Something that only the Grail is capable of granting. If you truly feel responsible for him, if you are truly loyal to the Lord El-Melloi, then fight for your Master!"

"Lady Sola…" Lancer said softly, turning to look at her. "…do you speak as the Lord El-Melloi's wife, and only for his sake?"

"O-Of course…" Sola responded, fidgeting and looking away.

"Do you swear then, that you have no other desire than this?"

"I…I swear as the wife to the Lord El-Melloi, that I shall deliver to him the Holy Grail."

"_Grainne…_" Lancer thought as he nodded and accepted Sola's oath. "_…and now Lady Sola…why…why must my desire of serving my lord and my lord alone always be denied?_" Closing his eyes, Lancer walked back into the hideout to seek out his Master and report this change in circumstances, only to be met with an unpleasant surprise. "Master…!"

* * *

A/N

I have plans for Yui and Kyoko in the sequel, but man it is a pain to think and write about what six year-old girls do and talk about. Sakura at least I can age up a bit since she's not really a six year-old in mental terms…anyway, AU Sakura has a dual origin like Kiritsugu: paradox and synthesis. Medea considers it a quadruple origin since the paradox origin has two sub-origins: Heroic Spirit and Human. Elemental affinity, I've already mentioned that in an A/N from an earlier chapter, but I'll re-mention them again: wind (sub-elemental affinity: lightning) and ether (void).

I don't know what canon Sakura's origin is, but AU Sakura has had her origin altered by her blood adoption much like Shiro (which was altered to 'sword') by his experience in the great fire of Fuyuki.

I wonder what happened to Kayneth though. Stay golden…


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 12

"What's wrong?" Sola shouted as she ran into Kayneth's room after hearing Lancer's shout. She immediately took a step back at the sight of Kayneth's corpse lying on the gurney, her hands going to her mouth in shock. A single blade was plunged all the way to the hilt in Kayneth's chest, and his blanket and mattress alike were soaked with blood. "But how…?" she gasped, struggling not to retch at the sight.

"Assassin…" Lancer snarled in anger. "…that honourless coward is the only one who could have done this. Lady Sola, do you know who Assassin's Master is?"

"If I remember correctly from what Kayneth told me…" she replied after a moment's thought. "…Assassin's Master should be Kotomine Kirei."

"Kotomine Kirei…" Lancer said in a low voice, drawing himself up and clenching his fists as he did so. "…no matter what it takes I swear on my honour to avenge my Master's blood!"

Sola had mixed feelings with regards to Lancer's reaction to Kayneth's death. On one hand, she was free. She no longer needed to use the Holy Grail to save Kayneth – much less marry him – and could use it for her own purposes instead. She would also finally have Lancer all to herself. From this point on, Lancer would be fighting to protect her, and to claim the Holy Grail for her. If she wished for him in the end, no one would question her decision to do so. It was a giddying thought.

On the other hand, it didn't escape her notice that Lancer was only motivated to fight – for the moment – to avenge Kayneth's demise. She would have to find another mean by which to bind Lancer to her. Perhaps she should read up on his legend, and find out how Grainne managed to do so in life. And if worse came to worse, then she still had two command spells on her hand. One of them might prove useful. But before any of that…

"Lancer…" she said, causing Lancer to turn and look at her suspiciously much to her dismay. "…while I have no problem with you going after Kotomine for revenge, we can't just rush into battle blindly. Or have you forgotten who Kotomine is allied with?"

"Tokiomi Tohsaka…" Lancer whispered. "…Archer…"

Sola nodded and said "Which is why we're going to need allies if we're going to take them on."

"Who do you suggest?"

"I have an idea." Sola replied with a confident smile, satisfied that Lancer might actually be beginning to trust and confide in her. "From what Kayneth managed to gather, it seems that the Matou representative may have a feud with the current head of the Tohsaka Clan. If so, then he would be an appropriate ally for us wouldn't you agree?"

"But as I recall that same Master is also quite elusive." Lancer countered. "Berserker could be a useful ally to have on our side, but not if we can't even contact his Master."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Sola said confidently. "My brother may have succeeded my family magic, but that is not to say that I am unskilled as a magus. I know of a certain benign spirit which may be invoked to communicate with another who hides himself. This spirit will not reveal the Matou Master's location to us, or our location to him or her, but it will convey messages between our two parties."

"I see…" Lancer said, giving a bow to her. "…in that case, I leave gathering allies to avenge Lord Kayneth to you, Lady Sola."

* * *

"It would appear that things are moving according to plan." Medea said to Assassin while watching the interaction between Lancer and his new Master. "Lancer will move to ally with Berserker, and then strike at Tohsaka and Archer. The King of Heroes will undoubtedly destroy Lancer with ease should the latter attack alone. But with Berserker standing alongside the Knight of the Lance…"

"…well done Assassin…" Medea congratulated the kneeling Servant behind her. "…you have performed your tasks well."

"You flatter us, my lady." Assassin replied. "This is what Assassins are meant to do, to strike from the shadows with a thousand blades of death, leaving naught but confusion and misdirection in our wake."

"Indeed…" Medea agreed, shifting her view to Sabre and her companions. "…on another front, it seems that Sabre and the Magus Killer are moving to strike at us. Sabre has apparently sunken into depression as a result of her recent failures, but I haven't gotten as far as I've come by lack of caution. If she springs back, then Emiya's assault on Mt Ryuudo might prove more than just a mere nuisance. When the time comes Assassin, withdraw all your incarnations back to the fortress and prepare to engage Sabre. This includes my daughter's bodyguard. She will be safe enough within the fortifications of my city. At the same time, send a third of your forces to eliminate Rider's Master."

"As you wish…" Assassin said with a bow. "…however, won't a third of my incarnations being sent against Rider's Master seem a bit much?"

"Rider is Iskandar the King of Conquerors." Medea said softly. "If infiltration fails, you will need to tie him up to strike at his Master. As for Sabre…there is a possibility that even with the mystic codes I gave you that Sabre could still plough through. Therefore my daughter and I will provide support fire should it prove necessary."

Assassin bowed without another word, and Medea dismissed her with a wave of her hand. At the same time the view zoomed in on Irisviel. "_So that's the vessel of the Holy Grail._" She thought to herself. "_Knowing Emiya, he will most likely send Sabre from the front accompanied by that meat puppet as a decoy, while he and his mistress strike from the rear. If so, then I'll have to provide a warm welcome for them._"

Medea smiled. "_It would seem that Assassin's usefulness has almost run its course. Once the Grail vessel is close, the time has come to run the experiment on the energy flow into the feed system. I'm looking forward to it, meat puppet._"

* * *

"Kiritsugu…" Irisviel said from her bed, watching as her husband put his clothes on. "…tonight you're going to go after Caster aren't you?"

"That's right." Kiritsugu replied. "Now that Kayneth has been neutralized for the time being, Caster is my priority. She'll be formidable enough on her own, but with Assassin apparently by her side, she'll be even more dangerous than she would normally be."

Irisviel looked troubled, and sighing said "You know, Caster was here just a few days ago with her Master."

"Yes, you told me that already."

"What I didn't tell you was that Caster's Master…is a six year-old girl."

The Thompson Contender fell to the ground hard, and Kiritsugu whirled around to face his wife in shock and confusion. "What…?"

"There was no mistaking the command spells on her arm." Irisviel said sadly. "I didn't catch her name, but from the conversation between the Servants it seems that she's a scion of the Tohsaka Clan who was cast out by her family. I don't know what might have happened to her after that, but it seems she was desperate enough to be chosen as Master by the Holy Grail."

Irisviel looked at Kiritsugu with unusually hard eyes. "She didn't ask to be a Master, I'm sure of it!" she said resolutely. "I…we can't blame her for being a Master!"

"You want me to avoid killing her, don't you?" Kiritsugu said, looking away.

"Would you kill a child, Kiritsugu? By the Root, Kiritsugu she's just a little girl. It would be no different from killing Illya yourself."

"I…"

"Yes I know." Irisviel said. "You walk the path of the least bloodshed. One life to save ten, a hundred to save a thousand, a thousand to save a million, and so on. But if you kill that girl, you'd be no different from Jubstacheit, someone who would use our Illya against us. Because then you'd be using that girl against Caster!"

Kiritsugu sighed, but he knew he couldn't really argue against what Irisviel was saying. It was going to be a pain, but he'd have to find a way to defeat Caster without hurting her Master. Oh well, he'd been up against worse odds before, so it shouldn't be that difficult. "Alright, I understand." He finally said with a fond smile at his wife. "I won't kill that girl, and I'll see what I can do."

Irisviel sighed in relief. "Thank you…" she said, relief clear from her tone of voice. "…thank you for listening…and for being Human."

"But in order to defeat Caster and Assassin…" Kiritsugu said with his voice all about business once more. "…we'll have to get Sabre out of her current slump first."

Irisviel grimaced with discomfort. "Please tell me she didn't spend all night drinking."

"Sorry, but if I did that, I'd be lying."

This time it was Irisviel's turn to sigh in resignation. It seemed that Sabre had been badly affected by both her loss at Lancer's hands and by Caster and Rider's words from back then. "I'll see what I can do for her."

"I'll leave it to you then."

* * *

Kariya Matou sat on a bench in the park, leaning back while eating a hotdog sandwich, watching people walk by the fountain in front of him. He remembered nearly jumping out of his skin and almost setting Berserker on that spirit that had accosted him earlier that morning. The thing had literally come through a wall, and had looked like a…well it looked like a colourless, Human-shaped gaseous thing. It had introduced itself as a spirit that could be called upon to deliver messages to and from people in hiding reliably, since while it could find all but the most well-hidden people, it would never actually tell others where they were, and only took and delivered messages. The spirit had been rather smug that he'd been contracted to many magi for centuries to reliably conduct negotiations that would normally have been impossible or too dangerous to conduct otherwise.

According to the spirit, its contractor wished to speak with Kariya to discuss the possibility of an alliance. While it was true that such a thing would only last in the short term, the contractor had assured Kariya through the spirit that her terms would not cost him much. This had surprised Kariya, since as far as he knew, apart from Sakura and the von Einzbern Master, none of Masters were women. Furthermore, the contractor had asked to meet with Kariya in a public park in the afternoon, where there would be the most number of people present, as a guarantee against any breaking of good faith. Finally won over, Kariya had agreed, and the spirit had left much the same way it had arrived: through a solid stone wall.

And now here Kariya was, sitting on a bench in the park and eating a hotdog sandwich while waiting for his rendezvous. "_Gods above and below…_" Kariya thought aghast at himself. "_…that makes me sound like an adulterer._"

At that point a young woman wearing a white, long-sleeved blouse and a red skirt sat down next to him. Kariya immediately raised an eyebrow at the sight of the big red ribbon on her chest, and at the pair of sunglasses she was wearing. "I'm guessing you're the one who called me out here?" he asked, and she nodded.

"You are correct; my name is Sola-ui Nuada-re Sophia-ri. You are the Matou Master, I presume?"

"That's right." Kariya confirmed. "Although I'd prefer it if you'd call me by my given name: Kariya. I have…issues with the rest of my clan."

"I see." Sola acknowledged, removing her sunglasses. "Regardless, I've come to discuss the possibility of an alliance against a mutual foe."

"Really…?" Kariya said, looking at her with a measuring gaze. "And just who would be this mutual foe of ours be?"

Sola smirked smugly and answered "…Tokiomi Tohsaka."

Kariya looked dumbstruck and surprised for a moment before recovering and narrowing his eyes. "I'm listening."

"To tell the truth…" Sola began to explain. "…it's not really Tokiomi we're after, but his ally: Kotomine Kirei. He's also the Master of Assassin, and he had Lancer's former Master – and my fiancé – murdered. Needless to say, we want to make him pay."

"Kotomine Kirei is a former Executor to my knowledge." Kariya said. "He might hold his own – at least in the short term – against even a Lancer-class."

"Agreed…" Sola said with a nod. "…and there is still the issue of his ally Tokiomi and his Servant Archer." Sola now looked at Kariya with an appraising eye. "It has not escaped our notice that you have a feud with the man. So we want you to keep him and his Servant busy while we take care of Kotomine. In the short term the man certainly has the ability to fight all but the strongest Servants to a standstill, but the longer the battle continues, the more the balance will shift in favour of the Servant."

"In other words you want me to buy time." Kariya summarized, and she nodded in confirmation. "I've no problem with fighting Tokiomi and his Servant, but I do so for my own personal reasons. I've no love for Kotomine either, but it seems to me that you're asking me to help you free of charge. Aren't magi supposed to believe in the concept of equivalent exchange?"

Sola actually laughed at that and said "Very well, what are your terms?"

"I'm not a very good magus to be honest." Kariya began, looking at his hand. "I have some skill in the use of familiars, but that comprises almost all my knowledge of magecraft. I doubt that will be enough to fight Tokiomi with. Therefore I'm going to ask you something that no magus would normally ask from another magus: knowledge. I need knowledge of magic to fight Tokiomi with."

"Your terms are steep Mr Kariya." Sola said with a nod. "But it is fair. I am asking you to fight Tokiomi Tohsaka after all, and he is without a doubt a first-class magus. Even the Lord El-Melloi considered him a worthy opponent before his demise. I do not believe I can teach you enough to actually defeat him, considering that many mysteries are bound to our respective bloodlines, which means that my more powerful mysteries are beyond your reach. Nor do we have the time to properly teach you the more powerful common mysteries. Tell me, apart from familiars and their appropriate mysteries, what do you know?"

"I have some skill in projection and reinforcement."

"The former is useless in combat, though I suppose the latter could be useful if used properly. We'll have to make the best of combat tactics to maximize our abilities' effectiveness."

"I have a lot of familiars to call on." Kariya interrupted. "Individually they're not much of a threat, but as a swarm they're quite formidable. Apart from their sharp and painful fangs, the familiars have a debilitating poison as well as the ability to drain prana."

That last part was spoken with a certain degree of disgust, which had the female magus raising an eyebrow. Well, whatever it was it wasn't her place to ask about the intricacies of other magi's mysteries. "Was there anything you had in mind to particularly learn, Mr Kariya?"

"Elemental magecraft…" he told her. "…my affinity is for water…"

"I can teach you the theory, but you'll have to figure out the practical on your own."

"That's fine by me. Give me what I need to fight Tokiomi to a standstill, and we'll call it even."

Sola laughed again at Kariya's words. "Well that is surprising." She finally said. "I expected that you'd want to beat him."

"Humph…" Kariya snorted. "…I'm not so stupid as to think I can defeat Tokiomi. It'll take years of study and training before I can stand on his level. However, my goal is not simply to fight him to a standstill. Because you see, even if I can't defeat him directly, I can defeat him indirectly."

"How so…?" Sola asked, curious about the meaning behind his words.

"Fighting Tokiomi to a standstill won't be enough. That would raise his appraisal of my abilities by a fraction, but nothing would really change. However, if I can injure him seriously and then get away with it, his prided superiority will cease to exist. Yes, I couldn't defeat him. But I drew his blood. I broke through his shield and harmed his person. And worse of all, I would still be out there, licking my wounds and gathering fresh strength to strike once more. And that would mean that he isn't nearly as superior as he thinks he is, and that one day, I could kill him and take everything he has from him."

"Well now Mr Kariya…" Sola said with a respectful tone. "…it seems that I've underestimated you. You have quite a sharp mind there; if we survive this war, then I've a mind to offer you a place in the Clock Tower or some other branch of the Mages Association should you desire it. And who knows? Maybe the House of Nuada-re Sophia-ri might have use of your talents."

"I'm flattered…" Kariya said truthfully. "…but I'm afraid that I'll have to decline. I don't get along well with most magi. In fact, you could say that my issues with my clan involve its very nature as a magi bloodline."

"Ah, that's a shame." Sola said, standing up. "Very well, shall we discuss this somewhere more private? We're fast approaching more sensitive matters, and perhaps it would be best to discuss them where the risk of being overheard and spied upon by unfriendly eyes is less?"

"Alright then…" Kariya agreed, standing up as well. "…lead on Ms Sola."

* * *

Sabre's eyes blinked groggily open as the dejected Servant awoke slumped on a table in Castle von Einzbern surrounded by empty wine and spirit bottles. The Knight of the Sword was looking thoroughly the worse for wear, her eyes shadowed and lifeless, and her hair a golden mess. Not even bothering to fix up her rumpled clothes, the blonde shook a wine bottle, and finding it empty, threw it over her shoulder where it broke noisily on the floor. Finally she found a vodka bottle with some fluid still left in it.

She was about to pour herself another glass when Irisviel sat down on the other side of the table from her, and gently took the vodka bottle from her. "Don't you think you've had enough to drink, Sabre?" she asked.

"…not really." The blonde Servant said dejectedly, reaching forward and taking the bottle back from Irisviel. "It's not like a failure like me has anything to live up to, don't I?"

"Sabre, you're not a failure." Irisviel insisted, but the blonde merely snorted in reply.

"Of course I am." She said unhappily, pouring herself a glass. "What a fool I was, thinking I could protect my kingdom and make my people's lives better…when all I was doing was just running around chasing rainbows and butterflies. And in the end I can't even take responsibility for what I've done, and just try to find someone else to pass the blame onto."

Scowling in disgust, Irisviel stood up and made to leave. And then she paused and said "Can't you see what you're becoming? You condemn yourself for your failures and here you are, drowning yourself in alcohol instead of actually thinking about what to do next! Yes, Caster and Rider were both very insulting to you, yet instead of using their words to rethink the future, you let it drag you down!"

"What do you want from me, Irisviel?" Sabre asked after a few moments.

Irisviel turned to look over a shoulder, her face hard but her eyes soft and compassionate. "Sabre…the ones who stood by you on that hill…they were proud to be with you until the end weren't they? And Sir Bedivere…he stood by you even at the end of your life, didn't he? Do you really believe that they would want to serve another rather than you, to whom they swore their undying service? Stop running away Sabre, and stand by them instead."

Having said what she wanted to say, the homunculus strode off, leaving the blonde Servant alone. Swirling the alcohol in her glass, the blonde sank into her thoughts. "_Gawain, Bedivere, Kay…_" she thought to herself. "_…you truly believed in me, didn't you? And yet here I am, drowning myself in my sorrows…I'm such a disgrace…Lancelot…Guinevere…_"

Raising her glass in a silent toast, she said "Here's to you." Taking it all in one swallow, she stood and went off to the showers. Yes, a hot bath would do nicely to clear her head. Irisviel was right…rather than losing herself in a haze of alcohol fumes, she should have been using her head. She needed to think things through; it would not do for her to confront both Gilgamesh and Rider as she was now. A King after all had to comport himself properly. Clenching her fist angrily, she vowed that next she confronted them they would not be facing a little girl as Rider had called her, but the King of Knights himself.

* * *

A/N

Writer's block…and then breakthrough!

In any case, apart from Caster and Assassin (obviously), only Sabre and friends know about Assassin's shift in allegiance, so Lancer and Sola would assume Assassin was behind Kayneth's demise, especially since the telepathic link between Master and Servant would ensure that Lancer could tell from Sola's reaction at the sight of Kayneth's bloody demise that she was not to blame.

Finally, no I have no intention of upgrading Rin significantly. Sakura's role in the sequel is akin to Louis Cyphre's in SMT; someone who pops up from time to time to offer odd advice and help every now and then, at which point they vanish. She's busy with her research and schemes, as well as trying to get rid of a ditzy blonde princess (without any success) who's latched onto her for reasons which will be explained in the sequel.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 13

"I've a bad feeling about this." Irisviel murmured behind Sabre as they stared up the stairs that led up to Ryuudo Temple. The plan was for Sabre and Irisviel to go in from the front and draw out Caster and Assassin. Simultaneously Kiritsugu and Maiya would go in from the rear and infiltrate Caster's territory to capture Caster's Master and use her command spells to force Caster to destroy Assassin before surrendering to Sabre.

Kiritsugu was well aware of the fact that Caster and Assassin were probably spying on them and knew of their plans. However, he was also counting on this as since Caster was probably aware of Sabre's recovery, it would mean that neither she nor Assassin could take Sabre on by themselves. And with the two Servants tied down fighting the Knight of the Sword, the Magus Killer was quite confident in piercing the likely-formidable bounded fields around Caster's territory.

As they approached Mt Ryuudo though, they began to realize that they might have underestimated Caster. The mountain was literally swimming in prana, and as they got closer, they realized that the most formidable defence Caster was counting on was not her own, but rather Ryuudo Temple's bounded field, which could reduce even Sabre's performance if she stepped off of the stairway (which was only kept clear by the ley-line underneath it), which in turn gave the advantage of height to Assassin and Caster.

"We've no choice." Sabre said in reply, her eyes and voice going flat. Irisviel looked at her sadly; despite having recovered from her slump, her spirit and aura had darkened, as though she was forcing herself to become someone else. Someone colder and darker, who could do what needed to be done regardless of ideal and moral concerns. "Caster was wise to take advantage of the holy grounds' to mask her own territory and buffer her defences, but if so, then our only course of action is to break through forcefully!"

"_Agreed…_" Kiritsugu told her mentally from the other side of the mountain. "_…Maiya and I are about to begin our climb. Do what you can Sabre._"

"Are you ready, Irisviel?" Sabre asked, turning to look at her, and for a moment Irisviel noticed a spark of warmth return to her eyes.

Irisviel nodded. "Let's go."

Nodding back, Sabre began to walk up the stairs, Irisviel trailing behind her. Nothing accosted them, but it was clear that something or someone was watching them from the shadows. Frowning, Irisviel opened her circuits and prepared to deploy her alchemy if necessary, while Sabre's eyes flashed from one side to the other, keeping a watch on every shadow that could hide an enemy.

* * *

"Binding complete…" Medea said smugly as she observed Sabre and Irisviel walking up the stairs slowly and warily. Usually, she observed her enemies from a glowing sphere of magic held in her hands. Now however, she watched them on massive floor to ceiling screens that floated before her. One screen showed Sabre and Irisviel, while the other showed Kiritsugu and Maiya negotiating the rugged terrain of Mt Ryuudo. Smaller screens now flashed into existence around Medea, displaying a bewildering array of arcane symbols and numerical configurations that constantly shifted as cloaked familiars analysed the ebb and flow of the life of Irisviel von Einzbern – the vessel of the Holy Grail.

"…Assassin…" she said, activating and using one command spell. "…change of plans. It would seem that Sabre has recovered from her psychological issues…for now. As such, I want all of your incarnations to strike at Rider and his Master. Bring me their heads, or die trying."

"_Yes, my Master._" Assassin replied telepathically. Once she was certain that the Servant of Assassination had left, a smirking Medea opened another screen, this one displaying Assassin's statistics. Yes, she had promised to give Assassin mystic codes for use in battle, but that wasn't a complete truth. They would give the Assassins the ability to fight on par with an average Servant, and maybe last for a while against the three Knights, but the truth behind those mystic codes was something much more sinister: it would allow her to manipulate their base statistics however she willed.

Medea was the Witch of Betrayal after all, and if Assassin trusted her then that was their mistake. Because the only ones the Witch would never betray or manipulate were those whom she had an attachment to, and even then that was only so long as they didn't betray her first. If they did, then they would be fair game as well. And thus far, the only person she had an attachment to was her blood-daughter, Sakura.

"You were most useful to me Assassin…" Medea said, pressing a glowing rune on Assassin's screen and watched as the 'luck' statistic changed to –A. –A: a negative modifier that would guarantee Assassin's defeat and complete demise before the King of Conquerors, and allowing Medea to observe how a fallen Servant's energy flowed into the vessel, to say nothing of perhaps seeing Rider's trump. "…now then, show me what Rider is capable of. Show me how the founding families of this little contest intended to use a meat puppet to power a miracle. Let me enjoy your last piece of entertainment."

Chuckling with amusement, she projected an illusion of herself onto the stairs several steps above the Knight of the Sword, who paused and went to guard. "Welcome to Ryuudo Temple Servant Sabre. Although from the look of things you don't seem to be here on a friendly errand, are you now?"

Sabre's response was to jump forward and cut down her projection. Chuckling once more, Medea waved a hand, deploying a bounded field over the temple to keep everyone there asleep while the battle was fought outside. At the same time, Dragon Tooth Warriors began to emerge from the shadows and between the trees, moving to engage Sabre and Irisviel along the stairs, and an unhappy Kiritsugu and Maiya on the other side. "Very well then, if it's a battle that you want, then it's a battle you'll get."

"_Sakura…_" Medea said telepathically. "_…it's your turn._"

"Yes mother." She replied verbally in another part of the territory. Simultaneously, she stepped forward onto a pool of prana-infused water, literally walking on the surface towards the centre. As she walked, eight flat slabs of stone engraved with sorcerous engravings that surrounded the pool came to life, the arcane writing beginning to glow as a sphere of prana appeared over Sakura's head. Closing her eyes as she reached the centre, she reached out with her mind…

* * *

...and shook the mountain. "What's happening?" Sabre demanded as the fighting came to a standstill for a moment.

"I don't know." Irisviel replied, tearing apart several Dragon Tooth Warriors with her alchemically-powered silver wires. "But something big is coming…I can feel the prana flowing in the air and under the ground. But this is…"

"What's wrong?" Sabre asked, encouraging her even as she sidestepped a precise but unskilled swing of a sword from a Dragon Tooth Warrior before breaking it with a single blow from an armoured arm.

"…it doesn't feel like Caster is the one behind it. Which means that it's her Master…but the scale of it…this is A-Rank High Thaumaturgy, I've no doubt about it!"

"I thought she was just a little girl…?" Sabre snarled, unleashing the wind around her sword and ripping more Dragon Tooth Warriors apart…only for even more of them to come boiling out at the two of them.

"We've missed something important, I'm sure of it!" Irisviel replied. Had Kiritsugu heard those words, he'd probably laugh at the irony seeing as it was Irisviel who had asked him to see Caster's Master as just a little girl. As it was, Kiritsugu not only could not hear her, but was rather busy himself along with Maiya.

"What's that?" Maiya said as she hosed down a group of Dragon Tooth Warriors with her MP5, as flowing streams of silvery liquid were forming spheres of liquid metal that were floating in the sky above them.

"Shit…" Kiritsugu hissed. "…that's the Lord El-Melloi's mystic code. Caster must have appropriated it for her use." And then his eyes widened as the liquid metal stabilized, but instead of lancing down with physical attacks, the floating spheres fired off bolts of lightning at him and at Maiya.

"Maiya dodge it!"

* * *

"Well I guess that answers the question where Caster is hiding." Rider observed as he and Waver rode across the sky in his chariot, his gaze directed at the flashes of light over one side of the mountain. "I wonder who's attacking her, and which Master is confident enough to take on Medea on her own territory no less."

The two of them had gone out to buy some things for dinner, or rather ingredients for Martha MacKenzie's kitchen. This was pretty much the result of the MacKenzie couple finding out about Rider – much to Waver's displeasure – due to the King of Conqueror's convenient 'forgetting' to stay in astral form at the time. And now here they were using a Noble Phantasm to get to and from a supermarket since Martha had wanted to cook dinner for them all. And much to Waver's consternation, Rider had no problem using his Noble Phantasm for such a thing, saying along the lines of "…it's the least we can do repay their hospitality…"

Waver had been rather surprised though at how well Rider was getting along with the elderly couple, and had actually asked him about it. Rider merely said in reply "…the simple pleasures of home are the best…"

"It's probably Berserker or Lancer." Waver essayed as they arrived back at the MacKenzies' home, picking up their bags as Rider dismissed the Noble Phantasm before heading back to the house ahead of Waver. "Archer and Sabre's Masters know of Caster's true identity, and I doubt they'd risk facing her on her terms…"

Waver broke off as he literally walked right into Rider, bouncing off of the giant and painfully falling to the ground on his back. Staggering back to his feet while making sounds of irritation and rubbing his back, Waver looked back at Rider in front of him, who was standing still in the darkened doorway. Odd…it wasn't just the doorway, but the entire house was dark, no light shining through the windows at all. Did the MacKenzies decide to go to bed early? No, Martha wanted to cook dinner for them. Maybe the power was out.

"Rider why are you just standing there for?" he complained.

"Boy…" Rider replied with an uncharacteristically serious tone. "…it's probably best if you don't look."

"What are you saying?" Waver shot back, pushing his way past Rider and into the house. "What could be…the…"

Waver's voice faded into silence as his eyes widened in horror at the sight of the MacKenzies' living room. The furniture had been tossed about in what were clearly the signs of a struggle…one that was clearly meaningless given the amount of blood spilled onto the floor and splattering the walls and furniture. Gasping and tearing, Waver shakily stepped back, his eyes fixed on the dismembered corpses lying before him. "Glen…" he whispered. "…Martha…"

Unable to take it all he ran back outside, only to collapse onto his knees crying his eyes out as he retched out the contents of his stomach at the sight he had seen. As a magus he was prepared to face death (regardless of how much he cowered at the thought) but not like this. Root damn it all not like this.

"That's why I said it was better not to look." Rider said after hearing his Master crying and vomiting behind him.

"How can you just say that?" Waver lashed out. "I was the one who involved them in the whole affair…damn it all…damn it…"

"Now is not the time for things like pride boy…" Rider said soothingly, turning away from the house and walking towards Waver. "'…it's alright to cry. Anyone who doesn't cry at something like that…anyone who doesn't feel regrets for unintentionally causing the death of such kind and gentle people like them…don't deserve my respect."

"Then why aren't you crying?" Waver whispered accusingly, not realizing Rider's hand coming to rest on his sword's hilt.

"Easy enough to answer…" Rider said evasively, and then to his Master's shock he smoothly drew his sword from its sheath and cut down a black-clothed and skull-masked figure behind him, the King's sword cutting through sword and flesh alike with extreme prejudice. "…and that's because my Master's in danger!"

"Assassin…!" Waver breathed in shock and surprise, the dead Assassin falling to the ground in front of him even as Rider caught several paper-thin projectiles in one meaty hand. Blood spurted but the King of Conquerors held fast onto the projectiles before throwing them back, all six metallic leaves ripping through a surprised Assassin's throat; immediately afterwards, he side-stepped a descending sword before bisecting the offending Assassin at the waist with a back-swung stroke from his own sword.

"Isn't Assassin supposed to be dead?" Waver asked in confusion from the ground as Rider stood protectively over him.

"No, it would seem that we were meant to think that way." Rider breathed, before swinging his sword and blocking a thrown knife headed for Waver's back. Looking around him Rider's face turned grim. "We're surrounded. Damn Kotomine and Tohsaka. They've deceived us all, and small wonder the King of Heroes has no love or respect for him. Are the other Masters still alive I wonder?"

"Who knows?" an Assassin answered while his katars flashed in the moonlight as poisoned ice coated the razor-sharp edges. "In any case our Master has ordered us to kill you and your Master."

"Did he order you kill the MacKenzies as well?" Waver angrily demanded, much to his and Rider's surprise.

"Nothing was said of them." Assassin replied off-hand. "However, they were sheltering you weren't they? That's makes them your allies, and our enemies."

"You killed them just for that?" Waver said, horrified.

"Would you have done differently, magus?"

"That's enough." Rider said darkly, a flare of power blasting out and surprising the gathered Assassins. "They were our allies indeed. Yes they provided us shelter. They might have even been your enemies. But…they were of no threat to you. Yet you killed them regardless. And that…is something I cannot forgive!"

Waver felt the intense surge of prana and immediately for cover on the ground, his hands on his head. Then there was a blinding flash of light – visible even through his tightly-closed eyelids – and a blast of hot wind; but that wasn't what immediately caught Waver's attention. What caught it was the change in the ground. When he had dived on it, it was dark and moist loam. As Rider's prana surged over it, it turned into fine sand, causing the perplexed magus to open his eyes and to cautiously look around him. What he saw caused him to sit up in shock and surprise.

A vast desert, stretching out from horizon to horizon, under the clear sky – star-sparkled and velvet black to the west, and rosy and pink with the dawn to the east. The desert stretched past the horizon, with no shadows of distant mountains and giving the hint of a vast and infinitely majestic expanse that reflected the soul of the person who had created this realm. For Waver knew what it was.

"This is…" he whispered in awe. "…a reality marble. But how…?"

"True…" Rider conceded as he stood to the side, his sword sheathed and his cape flapping in the gently dawn breeze. "…only vampires, magi, and demons would normally be capable of creating a miracle on this scale. But don't you agree that the spirit of friendship, loyalty, and camaraderie between true companions is equal, no, even greater than such beings, and even more worthy of such a realm?"

"Huh?" Waver said, unable to understand the question.

"It's such a shame really…" Rider said mournfully, as the Sun rose and Waver looked to the east at the sound of countless marching feet and the shadows of men, animals, banners and weapons were silhouetted by the rising Sun. "…the other Kings and heroes are not here to behold this testament to my, no, to our collective glory. Assassin is unworthy…but you are here my young friend, so it's not a total loss. Let me show you then, how a King should be!"

"Behold…" Rider thundered, pulling Waver up by the scruff of his neck to properly watch as Rider's countless loyal soldiers marched from the sands of time and history to answer their King's call once again. "…my endless armies! Their bodies have been destroyed, and their offered to the World as Heroic Spirits, but still these legendary heroes still pledge their loyalty to me!"

The Sun finally rose in its entirety, and Waver could only watch, wide-eyed and open-mouthed as countless banners of red and gold waved in the breeze, and sunlight glinted off of countless spears. There were Greeks and Macedonians in plumed helmets and carrying mighty shields and spears, encased in iron armour. There were Persians in scale-mail, Indians in cotton robes and armed with mighty bows. Babylonian and Egyptian sage-magi strode over the ground in red and black, flanked by Greek sorcerers in purple and gold. "They are my right to rule, the ones who walk my Way of the King, the ultimate Noble Phantasm that I, Iskandar possess: Ionian Hetairoi!"

A thunderous cry met the King's final proclamation, shaking Heaven and Earth alike, and Waver felt humbled at the sight of those who had sworn loyalty to Rider in times past, and continued to follow his banner even beyond death itself. "_How foolish I was…_" he thought to himself. "_...taking Rider for granted. Rider…no, Iskandar is a King. I should treat and listen to him as a King…_"

Waver's thoughts broke off as someone approached leading a black charger gently by the reins. As the man came closer, Waver blinked at the incongruity of the sight. The man was dressed in what were undoubtedly modern clothes, a red cloak over black business attire and…was that a cigar? "Greetings my King." The man called out as he drew nearer, and Waver blinked once more at the man's cultured British accent.

"Hello my friend." Rider said, gratefully taking the offered reins and fondly running a hand over Bucephalus' head. "You look familiar to me, yet I can't seem to place a name."

"It would seem the World itself has no desire to see you recognize me at this point in time." The man replied. "And it would seem that I am unable to speak of myself to you. But what are the World's desires compared to those of the King's?"

The man reached into his cloak and pulled out a battered but impossibly familiar copy of the Iliad. "…feeling inspired yet, my King?" the Lord Waver El-Melloi II asked as his younger self's mouth fell open and Rider laughed uproariously.

"Keep it my boy!" Rider said jovially as he mounted Bucephalus and made to address his loyal soldiers. "And I need not to know your name to recognize a friend from beyond the trivial limitations of the World!"

"Boy…!" Rider said, directing his voice to Waver who was still staring in shock at the Lord El-Melloi II (who was puffing away without a care on his cigar). "Listen and know what a King is!"

"A King…" Rider loudly proclaimed to his gathered followers. "…must lead a grander life than all others, and be an object of envy and admiration for those that follow him!"

"Yes…! Yes…! Yes…!" the soldiers thundered in reply, raising their weapons into the air at the same time.

"He who is the envy of heroes, and leads them from the front, is the King! Therefore the King is not alone, for his will equals the will of all those that follow him!"

"Yes…! Yes…! Yes…!"

"Now then Assassin…" Rider said, turning to face the Assassin cowering on a distant hill. "…despite what you've done, you are still Heroic Spirits are you not? Then at the very least face death with dignity!"

Drawing his sword, Rider roared "Eliminate them!" As the King thundered towards the Assassins mounted on Bucephalus, the rest of the army followed after him, their cries and trumpets splitting the sky as the Sun glinted off of their blades. "What are you spacing out for?" the Lord El-Melloi II said to Waver as they stayed where they are. "You successfully summoned the King of Conquerors and rode with him on the battlefield didn't you? Don't you think it's about time you started leaving your mark on the world?"

"But I…"

"Here's a piece of advice amateur…" the Lord El-Melloi II told his younger self with the barest hint of amusement in his voice. "…believe in yourself. That's all I've got to say to you."

* * *

Lightning blasted down on Kiritsugu and Maiya, who were unable to advance and were instead forced to concentrate on dodging and running around the blasted terrain and destroyed trees on the slopes of Mt Ryuudo. A task made all the more difficult by the Dragon Tooth Warriors still popping up at random over the battlefield.

"_Can't you stay still so I can bury you?_" Sakura angrily thought as the intrepid pair continued to avoid her divine retribution. And then she saw Maiya tripping on a stone and smirked. "_Disappear…!_"

"Time accel…double!" Kiritsugu cast his aria as the bolt of lightning lanced down towards Maiya, who wouldn't be able to dodge in time…at least not without his help. Speeding up time twice as fast, Kiritsugu barely managed to get ahead of the lightning and got Maiya out of the way as the lightning bolt blasted a fresh crater into the ground. At the same time he pulled out and aimed his Thompson Contender at the nearest sphere of liquid metal. Grenades and normal ammunition had proven useless against them…but perhaps his Origin Bullet would not be so useless.

"Sorry Iri…" he said sadly as he pulled the trigger. If Caster was the one controlling them, there was a chance the attack might not work. But if it was her Master controlling them, regardless of how impossible it might sound (then again a six year-old girl as a Master should be impossible as well)… "…I might not be able to keep my promise after all."

* * *

A/N

Surprised that Caster betrayed the Assassins? Whatever for? She is the Witch of Betrayal, don't you know? She might be a nurturing mother to Sakura, but her alignment is still Neutral Evil (and is definitely guiding Sakura towards the same alignment).

I'm really sorry for killing the MacKenzies, but it had to be done. I admit I rushed over that part, since I just couldn't bear to go into the details of killing such a kind couple.

Anyway, preview for the next chapter: the woman in black returns to receive Sakura's answer and to ask her second question.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 14

Sakura screamed and collapsed down on all fours as pain lanced into her head as though acid-coated needles were being inserted into each of her nerve endings. Simultaneously, the prana in the pool beneath her and the energy sphere above discharged violently into the focusing array, cracks breaking across the stone slabs and marring the perfect configuration of arcane engravings. "_Sakura..!_" Medea shouted telepathically, sensing her daughter's pain through their link as Master and Servant. "_Are you alright?_"

"_I…_" Sakura silently replied, staggering to her feet in the knee-deep water and clutching her head with one hand. The pain was still there, but it was fading away. She cast a very basic diagnostic spell, and found no sign of physical damage. Apparently the pain was merely a sympathetic response by her body to her thoughts getting disrupted by Emiya's Origin Bullet. Shaking her head and taking a few moments to compose herself, she thought back "_…I'm fine, but the lightning conductor is dead. Mother, what do I do?_"

"_Calm down…_" Medea thought back. "_…first you have to reset the focusing array. You need to establish physical contact with each of the foci and re-engrave the mystery by verbally reading the engravings. Afterwards, re-sync and re-saturate the control pool to the prana stores, and then reactivate the conductor normally. Can you do it?_"

"_Yes…!_"

"_Good…_" Medea said, wrapping her cloak around herself while sending more Dragon Tooth Warriors against Kiritsugu and Maiya. "_…in the meantime, I'll get rid of these interlopers personally._"

Immediately teleporting over to the temple gates, Medea coolly looked on as Sabre tanked her way through the Dragon Tooth Warriors with Irisviel watching her back with her alchemical creations. "_Not bad…_" Medea silently commented at Irisviel's magecraft with the barest hint of respect. "_…for a meat puppet._" As Sabre tore through the last few enemies in her path, Medea raised a hand and pointed a finger at her. "…**Κεραινο**."

Sabre caught the lightning bolt on her sword, the resulting explosion blowing back Medea's hood…and then Sabre burst through the dust cloud, swinging her sword diagonally up from a low guard while shouting her battle cry. The sword strike seemingly cut through the surprised Servant of the Spell…and then the projection exploded, showering Sabre with a sticky white fluid that clung to her like glue.

"What is this…?" she growled. The explosion wasn't nearly powerful enough to hurt her, but the white glue-like fluid was quickly hardening and the way it had coated her body and the way it hardened was quickly rendering her immobile. If it were a simple paralysis spell then she could simply flare her prana and break free…but this was a physical restraint.

"Relax…" Medea urged her, reappearing from the shadows and coolly walking towards her. "…it won't hurt you."

"You don't seriously expect me to just stand idly by while you do whatever it is you're planning?" Sabre responded incredulously as Medea drew Rule Breaker. Sabre immediately doubled her struggles to break free, causing cracks to appear in the webs that held her relatively immobile.

"No Altria Pendragon…" Medea said, rolling her eyes. "…I expect you to struggle and eventually break free. But in the meantime I will see your sword as it truly appears behind the hurricane."

Smirking, Medea stabbed Rule Breaker into Invisible Air, the Noble Phantasm rapidly flashing white and blue in protest against the violation. Violent gusts of wind tore around the two Servants, the metal tassels at the base of Sabre's dress tinkling against each other while Caster's robes fluttered around her. Leaves and branches were blown off of their parent trees, while Dragon Tooth Warriors and Irisviel's constructs were all torn apart by the sheer intensity of the wind-storm. The wind grew in intensity as it blew through the temple gates, ripping cobbles off of the temple roofs even as Irisviel stumbled to cover behind a relatively sturdy tree by the stairway, and still Medea stabbed her dagger into Invisible Air, the dying light of the King's scabbard illuminating the vicious and near-insane smirk that bisected the sorceress' face.

Finally the Noble Phantasm gave way, Medea's mysteries crushing those of its creator, Merlin…but the resulting explosion obliterated both the temple gate and part of the adjoining walls, sending Medea tumbling back into the temple grounds even as Rule Breaker went flying into the air. Even as Medea landed on her feet with a snarl, her bruises healing at a rate that would not be out of place among the three Knights, Sabre came hurtling out of the dust cloud shouting her battle cry and swinging the now exposed Excalibur. Cursing, Medea deployed her shield…and Excalibur tore through it and her left arm like a hammer crushing an eggshell.

Before Sabre could follow through, Medea pointed her right index finger at her and fired another bolt of lightning at her at point-blank range. Sabre's magic resistance allowed her to withstand it without taking damage, but the blast still sent her reeling back to the ruins of the temple gate. Falling into a low guard, Sabre prepared to press the assault, now having regained mobility having reached the temple grounds and thus outside Mt Ryuudo's bounded field, when a horrified gasp from Irisviel behind her gave her pause.

"What's wrong?" she asked, keeping a wary eye on Medea, but it wasn't Irisviel who answered. It was Medea herself.

"Well now Sabre…" Medea said neutrally, the flesh, bone, and blood of her left arm flowing like wax as it regenerated. A moment later her clothes followed suit and the sorceress straightened, looking at Sabre with a measuring expression on her face. "…I must admit that I have underestimated you. Considering your legend I would have expected your sword, the holy sword Excalibur, to be something more heroic. But it would seem that I was…mistaken."

"What are you talking about?" Sabre ground out. "If you find yourself unimpressed by my sword after expending all that effort to see it, then I shall endeavour to meet your expectations, and with Excalibur's edge no less."

"Sabre…" Irisviel said with her voice uncertain as she pointed at the sword in Sabre's hands. "…Excalibur…has it always looked and felt like that?"

"What…" Sabre began to ask as she looked at Excalibur, only to break off as her eyes widened in horror at the sight that met her. The blade still shone bright with the power of the many dreams and wishes of mankind, undamaged and untouched by the wear and detritus of the battlefield, and the gold of the hilt and guard were still mirror-clear. But the runes upon it…the faerie lettering that marked the sword's phantasmal origins and nature had changed. They still marked the sword as belonging to the King who dreamed of a distant and peaceful place for her and her people and promising victory to her and to all who followed her. But they were no longer blue…they were red. And the aura they gave off was no longer that of a sword that would be a shining beacon of virtue and justice, but that of a sword that would be swung without mercy and would spill as much blood as needed to be spilled to bring about that ever-distant utopia…no matter the cost.

"What…what have you done?" Sabre roared at Medea, whose eyes widened fractionally in surprise as she noticed a shift in Sabre's spiritual aura she had not recognized until then.

"I have done nothing." Medea shot back. "It would seem to me that the shift in your Noble Phantasm's spirit and appearance merely reflects a change in your own spirit, Altria. Have you perhaps grown up at last? Have you decided to turn away from the dream, and to focus your sight on the road that leads to it instead?"

Sabre ground her teeth in disbelieving anger. True, before departing on this sortie against the Servant of the Spell she had decided she would do what she needed to do, not just to win the Holy Grail War, but also to prove herself worthy of the title 'King of Knights'…but it shouldn't have changed Excalibur's feel and appearance to something similar…similar to that person's sword. It just shouldn't!

"Be silent!" she thundered as she leapt at Medea with her sword held high. Medea's response was to raise both hands palm outwards and unleashing a howling torrent of wind that would have torn any Human being caught in it apart as though they had gone through a meat processor. As it was, the ground before her and the ruins of the temple gate and adjoining walls were blown apart and while Sabre's magic resistance kept her from harm (and Irisviel who was directly behind her as well) it still sent her flying back and down the stairs. Flying up into the air, the elfin woman narrowed her eyes as she charged a sphere of power between her hands before firing it in beam form and razing the entire stairway down to the ground.

"Deny the truth all you want…" Medea said softly, magic circles appearing around her and projecting thin beams of light similar in function to modern guidance lasers to probe the clouds of dust and debris shrouding the ruined stairway below her. "…but it won't change it at all. For better or for worse, Servant Sabre: your spirit has changed. You are no longer a little girl who chased after a dream and unknowingly threw away her Humanity in the process. You are now a King who would forge a path to that dream regardless of the cost, and one who would never look back along such a course. If so, then as one of royal blood I shall face you as befits your esteemed rank!"

* * *

"Damn Emiya…" a little blue-haired girl angrily cursed as she finished resetting the focusing array. The pain which she had thought was fading away had returned…and with extra interest to boot. Sakura's head was throbbing as though someone was taking a stick to it, which did little to cool her temper. "…making me go this far…hurting me like this…I'll kill you…"

Placing a hand on the pool, a blue circuit board-like pattern spread out from her hand and over the water's surface as it was saturated with prana. Once she felt the connection to the lightning conductors return she stood up and began to walk over the water to the centre, though she stumbled more than once on the way. She didn't even notice her vision begin to grow blurry or the prana sphere overhead to spasm in time with each throb of her aching head. Closing her eyes, she once again extended her mind…

* * *

"…not again…!" Maiya shouted in alarm as she saw the pools of liquid metal lying on the ground where they had spilled after Kiritsugu had shot one of his Origin Bullets funnel back into the sky to reform and crackle once more with lightning.

"Impossible…!" Kiritsugu said with an uncharacteristic note of shock in his voice and with his eyes wide in surprise. "Caster's Master should be nothing more than vegetable now at best or dead at worst!" And then he was dodging a lightning bolt and spitting out curses like melon seeds.

"_Wait a minute…_" he suddenly thought. The metallic orbs overhead were no longer the perfect spheres they were before, and were now lopsided and pulsing blobs of liquid metal. Furthermore, the lightning didn't seem to be aimed either, and were seemingly lashing out at random at anything that moved. "_…perhaps my earlier attack wasn't as ineffective as I thought. Most likely that little girl didn't have all her circuits active…if so, another shot should finish the job!_"

Cursing, he dodged another bolt of lightning and came back to back with Maiya. "It looks like your trump card didn't quite work out." She observed.

"…not quite." He agreed with a nod. "However judging by the spasms of those metal orbs and the rather haphazard aim behind those lightning bolts, the enemy isn't unharmed either. One more shot should finish the job…assuming I get the chance to finish reloading my Thompson Contender."

"Time alteration then…?"

"I don't have much choice don't I?" he said with a grin, and then the two of them were diving in different directions as a bolt of lightning shot at them again. Kiritsugu rolled on the ground, drawing his Thompson Contender and opening the chamber. "Time…" he began to cast when a telepathic message from Sabre cut through his concentration.

"_Kiritsugu…_" she silently shouted. "_…we have to retreat, Irisviel is hurt bad!_"

"What…?" he gasped, and then he cursed as he dodged another attack. Clenching his fist, he growled out an order as one of his command spells glowed and vanished. "Sabre, get Irisviel out of there now!"

"Maiya…!" he shouted across the battlefield. "We're retreating! This battle's over!"

* * *

"You won't escape…" Sakura whispered, gasping heavily…and then she collapsed onto her hands and knees, the prana sphere overhead dispersing as she lost her focus. Breathing hard, the little girl managed to crawl over the water before collapsing unconscious on the edge of the pool.

* * *

_Sakura blinked her eyes several times…and then sat up gasping and looking around her in surprise. Once again she found herself in her inner world only this time she was lying on the grass beside the stream…and found herself wincing as her head throbbed from her sudden movement. The pain was fading yet again…although this time she hoped it would be for good considering it was fading much faster than before. It was then that she registered someone singing a song passionately somewhere around her, and standing Sakura looked around for the woman in black, somehow knowing she was the one with the smooth voice singing her heart out over this land in spring. It didn't take long – considering she was sitting on a boulder along the riverbank with her eyes closed – and Sakura was staring up at her as she sang away._

"_Shine bright morning light…Now in the air the spring is coming…Sweet blowing wind…Singing down the hills and valleys…" she sang, and Sakura looked up at her with wide eyes, mesmerized by her beautiful voice and face, as well as the bittersweet notes of her song. "…Keep your eyes on me…Now we're on the edge of hell…Dear my love, sweet morning light…Wait for me, you've gone much farther, too far…"_

_As her song came to an end, Sakura immediately began to clap enthusiastically, startling the woman in black who immediately looked down at her and flushed in embarrassment. "That was great!" Sakura gushed. "You sing very well."_

"_I don't like to brag…" the woman in black replied as she jumped off the boulder and landed beside Sakura. "…but yes, I do have some talent in singing." Looking Sakura over, she raised an eyebrow and asked "You look like a mess. Did something happen to you?"_

"_Emiya and his Servant and friends attacked mother and me!" Sakura said angrily. "He used that…that…"_

"…_conceptual weapon…" the woman in black said as she sat down by the stream and patted the ground beside her. A moment later and Sakura was seated scowling beside her. "…Origin Bullet…yeah I know it hurts like hell…"_

"_Have you met Emiya before?" Sakura asked in curiosity._

"_Not in person…" she replied evasively. "…but we've met. Still, you're looking well despite taking a hit from an Origin Bullet. Normally you'd be dead right now, so why?"_

"_Mommy said that Origin Bullets won't work on us. She didn't say why, but she did tell me to study the concept behind Divine Words and then I'll know the answer to why."_

"_And…?"_

_Sakura silently pouted and the woman in black sighed before asking "Would you like a hint?"_

"_Will it cost me?" Sakura asked and her companion laughed at that._

"_Well now, aren't you sounding like a magus…" the woman in black said after several moments. "…but no, it won't cost you. Giving a free hint won't really cost me anything you see."_

"_Alright…what's the hint?" Sakura asked, looking at her closely._

"_Do you use magic circuits, Sakura?" the woman in black asked calmly._

"_Huh?"_

"_Do you use magic circuits, Sakura?"_

"_Well no, but…no way!"_

"_There you have it." The woman in black nodded in confirmation. "Since you don't use magic circuits, the Origin Bullet can't really tear up your nerves like it would normally do. It will disrupt your mysteries though, and seeing as your mind is the one conducting the mysteries it will also be the one to bear the brunt of the damage. Fortunately Human minds are rather vague and have an infinite capacity for repair unlike physical and spiritual structures…but still, it will cause sympathetic vibrations that are well…"_

"…_painful..." Sakura finished glumly, and the woman in black nodded._

"_Yes, very painful. Well it's nothing a good night's rest won't solve, so you should be fine by the time you wake up tomorrow morning."_

"_That's true." Sakura said with a nod. "Before collapsing I remember seeing Emiya and another woman running away. I'm guessing Sabre and that meat puppet as mommy calls her ran away too. Mommy will find me, and then tuck me in bed…"_

"…_is this a dream?" she asked, and the woman in black shrugged._

"_To be honest I'm not really sure myself." She answered. "But I can assure you that this is really happening. I'm not a figment of your imagination…"_

"_Who are you?" Sakura pressed, and the woman in black grinned._

"_Tell you what…" she said. "…once you answer all my questions, I promise I'll tell you my name, and some other interesting things. Is that alright?"_

"_I suppose so." Sakura replied, pouting again and causing the woman in black to laugh._

"_Alright then…getting to the point: Sakura, what do you want?"_

"…_power…" a firm declarative answer, without any hint of uncertainty._

"_Yes…I want power." Sakura said with a cold note of iron that no six year-old should have in their voice. "There are many kinds of power, so I'll start with the easiest one to get for me: magical power. But since Divine Words needs knowledge to make miracles happen, I need to learn more about the arcane. Mommy will teach me what she knows, and when I or she reaches our limits, I'll just go and continue my studies on my own. I'll get more than magic and knowledge over time, but no matter what I'll use that power to make my own future. And I'll protect my friends and those important to me, no matter what."_

"_I see…" the woman in black noted as she nodded with approval. "…you know what you want, and from your words it's clear that you are willing to do what needs to be done to get what you want. But if you go too far you'll become the very monsters that you hate. Zouken Matou…Tokiomi Tohsaka…"_

_Sakura clenched her little fists in anger at the mention of those names…only to be surprised and to have her anger grounded when the woman in black patted her on the head. "Now, now…" she said soothingly. "…don't get too worked up and let me finish. You already know what you want, and willing to do what you have to do…but in order to avoid losing yourself along the way (which will also prevent you from attaining your dreams) you must find the answer to the second question: who are you?"_

"_It's not nearly as simple as 'I'm Sakura!' is it?" Sakura asked with a smile, and the two of them shared a laugh._

"_Of course not…" the woman in black said while standing up. "…think it over little one. This is very important, because the only way to avoid losing yourself is to know who you are in the first place. Goodbye for now…"_

_Having said this, the woman in black strode off along the bank, singing cheerfully as she walked away. "Crazy woman…" Sakura said softly. "…but why do you feel so familiar to me?"_

* * *

A/N

The woman in black's song was not my creation. It's 'Fake Wings' by Yuki Kajiura. And the second question is the Vorlon question from Babylon 5.

As for my explanation about the Origin Bullet having no effect on Sakura, let me quote the wiki: "…High-Speed Divine Words, which allows for the activation of magecraft without connecting to Magic Circuits or using normal incantations for the spells." And there's also: "She is always surrounded by divine mysteries of ancient lore, so magic is just something she commands like ordering her guard dog to attack."

In other words…ancient magic literally is 'knowledge is power'. The more you know the more magic you can perform with your words and gestures. However since it's the mind which actualizes the mysteries instead of the magic circuits, it's the mind which bears the brunt of the damage. Compared to magic circuits or nerves thoughts can be repaired and reformed, although it will still hurt…very much so.

Anyway that's all for now. Stay golden…


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 15

Sakura slowly blinked her eyes awake and without raising her head off of her pillow, looked around her. She was lying in her room in Ryuudo Temple, and judging by the light streaming through the paper panes, apparently it was sunset already. That made sense, or so she thought to herself, seeing as the battle with Sabre and her allies took place very late at night and considering the damage inflicted by the Origin Bullet she really had to sleep in for her mind to reboot itself.

"Oh good…" Medea said, walking into her room. "…you're awake. You've been sleeping for three days and two nights now and I was getting worried you might not wake up."

"…three days and two nights…!" Sakura echoed loudly, sitting up abruptly. Medea chuckled and sat down beside her futon.

"Yes, you were asleep that long." Medea confirmed. "It's not really surprising though, as even if the mind can repair damage much more easily compared to magical damage on physical and spiritual structures, it takes time to do so. And that's only if it doesn't take too much damage within a given period of time, otherwise even its natural self-repair abilities will be rendered useless."

"Once was enough." Sakura said glumly, and Medea nodded in agreement.

"One shot with an Origin Bullet took you out for quite a few days." She continued seriously. "Two shots would probably take you out for a month. Three or four will either send you into a coma or kill you outright."

"If that had happened, you'd have burned Sabre and anything and everything related to her in revenge." Sakura commented knowingly, and Medea laughed again.

"True…"

"So, what happened while I was asleep?"

"Sabre and company ran off." Medea said thoughtfully. "Interestingly, Sabre's starting to change. Her spiritual aura is acquiring the taste of blood so to speak, although I'm not sure how that will affect things. Excalibur's changes don't appear to be affecting its power, seeing as it was able to block my beam attacks with ease."

"But that's…!"

"No Sakura…" Medea countered while shaking her head. "…Excalibur is a high-rank Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm. It should easily be able to counter my beams by itself, and I don't dare try and match it at full power."

Sakura didn't look too happy, and Medea pulled her into a hug comfortingly. "Sakura, always remember that no one is all-powerful. There will always be someone stronger."

"Okay…"

"Don't worry…" she continued comfortingly. "…we can still win this war. Even if we can't match Sabre in a direct contest of power, we were never meant for line combat anyway. Magi fight smart, using their wits and knowledge as opposed to brute strength. And we're not just magi either Sakura. We're sorceresses of the ancient era; if anyone can outsmart and outfight Sabre among magic-users then it would be me."

"Then I'll believe in you." Sakura said, looking up at her mother's face. "You won't leave me alone, won't you?"

"No, I won't." Medea said and a contemplative silence fell between the two of them for the next few minutes. "The von Einzbern homunculus was injured in the previous battle; the last I saw of her she was being carried away by Sabre while clutching the stump of her left forearm and with blood streaming down her face. Judging by the speed by which Sabre escaped Emiya probably used a command spell."

"You let them get away?" Sakura asked, honestly surprised that her mother would let their enemies get away, especially after they'd hurt her.

"I had more pressing matters to take care of." Medea said with a knowing smile at Sakura who giggled in response. "I also had to collate the collected data by my familiars regarding the flow of power from Assassin's demise into the vessel."

"Did we learn anything more from Assassin's sacrifice?"

"Actually yes…" Medea said worriedly, and Sakura tilted her head questioningly in response. "…it would appear that Rider's trump involves a reality marble which manifests his entire army – the army of the ancient empire – which he then leads against his foe. I don't know how someone like him who is neither a demon or a vampire or a magus can manifest such a thing, but one thing's for sure: Rider is much more dangerous than Sabre ever will be. I'd place him on the same level as the King of Heroes, with his vast array of Noble Phantasms from the royal vaults of ancient Uruk."

"He seems like a really nice person." Sakura murmured. "King Gilgamesh is nice in his own way, but he's less friendly than Rider. I don't want to fight either of them."

"Agreed…" Medea said sadly. "…but we have to defeat them if we're to win this war. Either we find a way to defeat them without actually getting into a battle with them, or we let someone else fight and defeat them for us."

Sakura nodded and then blushed as her stomach made a loud complaint on its own. "Sounds like you're hungry…" Medea teased the blushing and embarrassed girl before standing up. "…well I suppose we should go and find you something to eat. Let's go…"

Sakura nodded, standing up and taking her mother's hand. "Your friends Yui and Kyoko came by yesterday though."

"They did…?" Sakura asked, surprised despite herself.

"Yes they did." Medea confirmed with a nod. "It looks like you have some very good friends dearest. Take good care of them; good friends are hard to find."

* * *

"It seems that Rider and his Master intend to engage Sabre." Kariya said to Sola as he walked out of their hideout and found her sitting on a stone and looking up at the evening sky. "I think now is the best time to deal with Tokiomi and his allies."

"What makes you say that?" Sola asked in reply, but it was Lancer who answered.

"Archer will undoubtedly wish to see his rival Kings fight one another. Considering his arrogance, he will view it as a battle to decide who is worthy of his blade. However…" At this Lancer paused and regarded Kariya neutrally. "…it's not for certain that Tokiomi and his pet priest will view the battle personally. For all we know, Kotomine will view the battle in Tokiomi's place, and report to him afterwards."

"Or…" Sola chimed in. "…Tokiomi will use shared perception to view the battle through Kotomine's eyes. Either way, your true enemy will remain safe behind the wards of his stronghold, and Lancer and I will be unable to fulfil our obligations to you." Truth be told, Sola could care less about her obligations in the alliance with Kariya, but Lancer considered it a matter of honour. And if Lancer wanted it, then Sola would give him what he wanted.

Kariya merely smiled in response. "Coincidentally, it would appear that Tokiomi and his family have gone out for dinner tonight. He's no longer safe behind the wards of the Tohsaka Estate, and has no ready gem stockpiles at hand. Granted, the man is still formidable on his own, but I'm confident of holding my own and getting my toll of blood. No, this is the best time to strike. I've already sent out Berserker to obtain a…toy that should prove handy when it comes to dealing with Archer. My familiars are already in place tracking Tokiomi. I've also found Kotomine…" Pausing, the man held up a city map he was holding in one hand. "…all that's left now is to issue our challenge and to choose the appropriate battlefield."

Sola and Lancer looked at each other. After a moment, Lancer nodded and turned back to face Kariya. "What do you have in mind?"

In response, Kariya smiled a smile that would have made Zouken proud had he been there to see it.

* * *

"Hello there Sabre…" Rider said to Sabre as they faced each other in the outskirts of the Einzbern Forest. "…I was just about to go in and challenge you personally, but you went out here yourself."

"Kiritsugu's cameras spotted you and your Master approaching well before your arrival." Sabre remarked coolly, holding Excalibur by her side in a relaxed but ready fashion. One of Rider's eyebrows rose as he noted the subtle shift in Sabre's spiritual aura and the red lettering on her sword.

"Something seems to have changed about you, Sabre." Rider commented. "Have you perhaps stopped chasing your childish little ideals?"

"Perhaps…" Sabre said evasively. "…personally I just decided to do what needs be done in order to win the Holy Grail, and to prove myself as the King of Knights."

"What of your wish, Pendragon?" Rider asked. "Do you still intend to change the selection of the King?"

"I do not know." Sabre answered after a moment of silence, before settling into a guard position. "However, while I'm still considering my desire before the Holy Grail, I have every intention of surviving this war long enough to hold it, and in the process obtain a worthy wish to offer to the Holy Grail."

"Ah I see…" Rider said, nodding in understanding. "…you have not given up your ideals, but you've stopped chasing them nonetheless." Rider paused as Sabre's fingers tightened on the grip of her sword. "But in the process of doing so, you've lost sight of your goal. That is not something unforgivable though. You have regained your Humanity, and it is Human nature to lose one's sense of self from time to time. However, it is only on the brink that we truly see ourselves as we truly are, and when we see what it is we truly desire. Perhaps…I may yet acknowledge you as the King of Knights, and not just a little girl I accused you of being earlier."

Sabre braced herself but to her surprise, the King of Conquerors made no move to attack. Instead, the man turned to his Master, crouching in the chariot beside the King of Conquerors. "Hold on boy…" he said. "…it's going to be a bumpy ride."

"Sabre…!" Rider said to her, a hint of joviality returning to his voice. "I have no problems fighting you, but this place is too close to your Master's home for two Kings to fight at their fullest. Let us prove ourselves to each other at a more worthy location. Try and keep up!"

"Wait Rider!" she shouted, but it was too late. Bellowing loudly, the divine bulls drawing the King's chariot thundered around and down the mountain road, leaving Sabre behind.

"Don't turn your back on me!" she shouted, only to grimace and run to get her custom motorbike.

"Was it wise provoking her like that?" Waver asked Rider, shouting to be heard over the thunder of the divine bulls' hooves.

"Provoke…?" Rider answered quizzically. "I didn't do anything like that."

"Oh yes you did." Waver quipped back, and Rider grinned in approval at the slight change in the boy's attitude. Ever since he had met his older self within the Ionian Hetairoi, his attitude had grown somewhat more confident, although he remained timid in general. Still…Rider held out hope that the boy would grow a spine in time. "You called her a little girl back then, where you also walked all over everything she did in life, and now you turned your back on her. She's going to be pissed, you mark my words Rider."

"You're probably right too." Rider said with a smirk. "No, scratch that; you are right. Look behind."

"Huh?" Waver said before turning and spotting something that made his blood run cold. Sabre was thundering after them on a motorbike, and sporting a very offended expression on her face. "How dare you turn your back on me…!" she screamed after them.

"Rider…!" he cowered back against the chariot wall and grabbing at Rider's leg as though hell's furies were after them. "S-she's gaining on us! Hurry and do something!"

"Calm down!" Rider thundered with a smirk on his face that showed how much he was enjoying this whole affair. "She's not going to catch up with us that easily!" He flicked the reins, causing the divine bulls to bellow and run even faster, once again leaving Sabre in the dust behind them.

"_It's too soon to use the nitro-boosters…_" she silently fumed as Rider and his Master pulled ahead. "_…if only I could use Invisible Air…damn Medea!_" And then she spotted the way the mountain road looped and curved around the mountain side, and hit upon an idea. "_That might work._"

"I think we lost her." Waver commented with relief as he looked back behind them and saw Sabre be reduced to a rapidly-growing smaller point behind them.

"Don't tempt fate boy…" Rider chided him as the roar of motor engines came from above and behind them.

"No way…!" Waver shouted in disbelief with his eyes bulging as he spotted Sabre literally jump across the sheer drop from the previous bend in the road. "She's behind us again Rider!"

"This is the best!" Rider replied gleefully, before drawing his sword and running it along the nearby wall, simultaneously driving the chariot closer to the same wall and allowing the wheel-mounted scythes to do the same. Massive chunks of stone and earth immediately began to fall onto the road, hard-pressing the pursuing Sabre into evasive manoeuvres. Unfortunately this also meant that the chariot couldn't really go as fast as it normally would be able to, which meant that Sabre remained hot on their heels, much to Waver's consternation.

"She's still behind us!"

"Stop whining and just enjoy the ride!" Rider retorted good-naturedly. Lighting surged around the chariot, tearing the ground apart; if Sabre wanted to keep up and face him, then she'd have to work for it. After all, being a King was by no means easy; if Sabre couldn't get meet his challenge then there was no point in actually fighting her, much less acknowledging her title.

"_Damn Rider…_" Sabre silently cursed, drawing Excalibur and using it to smash the larger rocks flying at her apart. The sword sang to her of bloodshed and war, completely unlike the soothing promise it once sang to her of. And worse of all, a part of her wanted to give in to the sword's promise of victory and triumph not through justice and example, but through fire and conquest. "_…Gawain…Bedivere…if you saw Excalibur now, would you still follow me? Lancelot…_" Shaking her head to clear her thoughts (and not noticing the teardrops flying from the edges of her eyelids) she shouted out her frustration as she battered the rocks aside. "_…no matter what it takes…no matter what I have to do…I will find a wish to bring before the Holy Grail…and I will be the one to hold it!_"

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Waver complained as Sabre fell back. He didn't dare mention it though, conscious of what had happened the last time he did.

"Watch your mouth boy or you'll be walking home!" Rider retorted before smirking. "Besides, if we went any faster we'd be flying. And if we did that, Sabre wouldn't be able to follow. That's no fun."

"Are you…?" Waver began to ask when the roar of motor-engines became audible again. Turning and looking up with apprehension, his mouth fell open at the sight of Sabre leaping across the chasm, her motorbike's exhaust plumes glowing blue from nitro-boosting. "Is she crazy?" he said aghast. "She'll never make it!" Indeed, the motorbike began to drop and arc down before it could reach the road…only for Sabre to use the falling machine as a platform to leap off of, using prana burst for some extra power.

"Rider…!" she roared, swinging Excalibur down with a two-handed grip, Rider turning to meet her downward slash with his diagonal one. The two swords met each other with an explosive blast of displaced air, Rider's chariot skidding to a halt sideways even as Sabre somersaulted through the air and landed heavily but elegantly on her feet, her sword held in a solid, two-handed guard. Rider whistled with respect at the sight, before raising an eyebrow as he noted the crack in his own sword.

"Truly a sword worthy of a King…" he commented, only for words to fail him as he saw the markings on Sabre's armour shift from blue to red. "…hmmm…Sabre, somehow I get the feeling you're trying too hard to change yourself."

"…that coming from the one who told me to 'grow up'?" Sabre asked incredulously. "In any case I've caught up with you so let us finish this, King of Conquerors!"

Rider looked at her neutrally for a few moments and eventually sighed as he gripped the reins of his chariot tighter. "Well, at the very least it seems you aren't a little girl anymore. Should you be the victor, then I pray to the gods that you find what it is you truly desire."

"Let us go, Rider!" Sabre said, raising her sword…only to lower it in surprise and to look out over the city in surprise along with Rider as explosions began to erupt across the riverbank. "What in the world?"

* * *

The answer to that question was Berserker flying over the city in an F-15 stolen from a nearby JSDF airbase, dropping mini-bombs over the riverbank in what Sola and Kariya believed to be an overly-obvious tactic to draw out the Knight of the Bow. And it was working. As the explosions ripped across the riverbank, blowing up warehouses and buildings and sinking ships en masse, Tokiomi had immediately sent Aoi and Rin home escorted by Kirei with orders to the latter to return to provide support once the Tohsaka non-combatants had reached the safety of the Tohsaka Estate. Meanwhile Gilgamesh and Tokiomi flew over the city on the former's mobile sky-throne, the Vimana, to investigate the disturbance.

"It seems that that mad dog has dared to invade the very Heavens." Gilgamesh commented as he sat in the Vimana's throne. "Impudent…I shall pass judgment on the foul beast today, and I will not tolerate or forgive any further forestalment of my law. Is that understood Tokiomi?"

"Perfectly so, your Majesty…"

"Good…" Gilgamesh responded with a satisfied tone before noticing someone on the ground. "…in any case, it seems that Berserker's Master has issued a challenge to you. He's on the ground. Damn mongrel…to use a mad dog as a Servant…if he has business with you then get out of my sight, Tokiomi."

Tokiomi bowed before jumping off the Vimana. Kariya for his part watched seemingly without concern as Tokiomi made his way down, sitting on a rock in a relaxed fashion along the seashore. "Hello Tokiomi…" he greeted the man as his opponent finally came within earshot. "…you look as boring as ever."

"Whereas you look better than I expected..." Tokiomi riposted with his usual faint smile. "…have you finally accepted the Way of the Magus, Kariya?"

"Of course not…" Kariya countered, and the tone of the reply inwardly irked Tokiomi, although he didn't show it openly. "…not the way you understand it at least; Ms Sola has been quite educative in that regard. She tells me that your understanding of the term is rather flawed, and needlessly wasteful. She also notes that the Great Houses would sooner have created a branch family rather than foolishly give away a sorcery trait worth a Noble Colour designation. Then again…you're not really very bright aren't you?"

"You have formed an alliance with the El-Melloi faction…?" Tokiomi asked, refusing to rise to the provocation but inwardly drawing back in horror at the realization that he had not considered that course of action, and that he might have doomed his legacy to a blood-feud because he had not considered the matter completely through. "I must say that I am impressed by your actions. I never expected you to align yourself with one of the Great Houses."

"We have need of each other." Kariya said dismissively. "It's no great concern. That's what spell-casters are to magi in any case; otherwise disgraces, but when our abilities are needed, you come to us for help."

"I have no need for assistance from spell-casters." Tokiomi scoffed and Kariya snorted in response.

"Then why bother with the fake priest?" he riposted in his turn, and Tokiomi actually laughed.

"It seems that I cannot argue with you on that account." He conceded with the faintest hint of respect, causing Kariya to smile at this minor victory. "Have you no accusations or misunderstandings you wish to discuss? This is most unlike you."

"Sakura is happy." Kariya replied with a shrug. "Zouken cannot touch her. Aoi…well I don't care much for her anymore. Rin…well as much as I hate to say this you'll take good care of her, so I've got no problems there."

Tokiomi raised an eyebrow at Kariya's comments about Aoi, but chose not to press the matter. "Caster will not keep her safe forever…" he began only to be interrupted.

"Zouken will never get his hands on her." Kariya insisted. "Not unless he wishes to call down the wrath of the Great Houses. Ms Sola's told me that while her original sorcery trait was only worthy of an 'Iron' Noble Colour, her new sorcery trait is worthy of the designation 'Jewel'. The Association will never allow such an asset to fall into the hands of a pseudo-Dead Apostle. They will raze Matou Estate to the ground if that happens, and the House of Edelfelt will claim Sakura for their own."

"Edelfelt…?" Tokiomi echoed, unable to keep the horror out of his voice as he heard the name of the Tohsaka's ancestral enemy from Kariya's mouth. "What do you mean?"

"Zouken knows about the Tohsaka Clan's skeletons, Tokiomi." Kariya said with relish. "For once I'm actually glad to be part of the Matou Clan. Our information, plus Ms Sola's contacts, have both proven most useful."

"I asked you what you meant by invoking the name of the House of Edelfelt." Tokiomi hissed at Kariya, his anger and fear now obvious.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kariya said with a smirk, raising a finger to his lips in a shushing fashion. "Your eyes, and the eyes of those girls, are Edelfelt-blue after all."

"I see." Tokiomi said coldly…and then he pointed his staff at Kariya, a glowing orange magic circle appearing before him.

* * *

A/N

Someone mentioned Heaven's Feel Shiro's mental troubles in a review for the previous chapter, so I added further explanations to the repair/healing of Sakura's mind after it took damage from Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet via Divine Words.

As for the Tohsaka's connections to the Edelfelt (and what skeletons the Matou are aware of) will be explained later on. In canon one of the Edelfelt Masters from the third war (there were two of them) stayed behind in Japan, and was rumoured to have married into the Tohsaka Clan, but in this AU…well, that would be telling.

Stay golden…


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 16

A plume of fire blasted out of Tokiomi's magic circle, lashing out and detonating against the rock Kariya had been sitting on just moments ago, sending up a plume of sand, dirt, and shattered rock up into the air. Kariya however had jumped out of way, reinforced limbs lending him superhuman agility.

"My, my…" he taunted Tokiomi as he danced around the man's attacks. "…it seems that I really got under your skin huh? You really don't want your family, or rather your father's dirty little secret getting out do you?"

"You know nothing." Tokiomi said softly before muttering an incantation in German, a ball of fire forming at the tip of his staff. The burning ball of prana began to spin faster and faster, changing in colour from red to blue, before the magus fired it at his enemy. Kariya's eyes widened at the burning sphere of plasma shortly before it detonated against the ground in a massive firestorm. "My family's secrets are precisely that, my family's secrets. I do not know how much you gave away to the Great Houses, but I cannot and will not allow you to compromise the integrity of the Tohsaka any further."

Tokiomi continued to stare at the smoking sands before him for several moments; finally satisfied with the thought that an amateur spell-caster like Kariya could not have survived such a powerful attack, he turned to leave. "…going somewhere?" Kariya's voice ghosted from behind him, and Tokiomi whirled in shock…as thousands of frozen needles flew at him. Cursing, the magus cast an aria and erected a heat barrier around him, the needles of ice subliming into steam upon impact. The thousands of needles flying over the scorched sands had dispersed the smoke, revealing a singed but otherwise unhurt Kariya down on one knee in ankle-deep seawater.

"I hope you didn't forget that my elemental affinity is for water, Tokiomi." He taunted with an arrogant smirk.

"Don't get above yourself, Kariya." Tokiomi snarled, struggling to reign himself in only for his enemy to roll his eyes in response.

"You're the one who's getting above himself." He snorted. "A large part of your crest is pillaged from, well I'd rather not say her name in case someone's listening, and you yourself make use of the 'common' element. From where I'm standing, you are the upstart, Tokiomi."

"As I said before, you know nothing of what you speak." Tokiomi responded coldly. "And it matters not if you use an element ranked higher than my own. True, that last attack of yours caught me by surprise, but it won't happen again. And even with surprise you have not been able to even damage my clothes. What can you do now that you've lost the element of surprise?"

"True, I didn't damage your clothes." Kariya conceded. "But what makes you think I can't or didn't hurt you? Don't you feel the blood trickling down from your temple?"

"What…?" Tokiomi echoed in surprise; he could feel the fluid trickling down the side of his face, but he had assumed it was sweat or condensed water from the steam produced by ice needles melting against his heat barrier. Raising his hand to his face he dabbed at the fluid and looked at the crimson drops staining his fingers with horror and mounting fury. "You…will…pay…!" he roared, losing all semblance of control.

"Sure I will…" Kariya countered, rolling his eyes and rising to his feet. At the same time, the seawater froze for several meters around him before cracking into a fresh array of icy projectiles. Most were simply needles, while others were much larger, the size of and with the rough appearance of swords. They rose into the air and floated around the spell-caster before aiming themselves at the enraged magus. "…but you know what Tokiomi: it's my turn!"

* * *

"Only the King and those that serve him are fit to stand in the Heavens." Gilgamesh arrogantly declared from his throne, golden portals opening around the gleaming golden form of the Vimana. "Those that do not are meant to grovel on the ground like the mongrels that they are. But you, mad dog, have no place in either Heaven or Earth. Disappear from my sight, and vanish into the endless darkness from whence all things came!"

Swords shot out of the Gate of Babylon, leaving glowing trails of prana behind them as they hurtled through the air towards Berserker. In response the black knight roared before deploying the F-15's Vulcan cannons, tearing apart the swords before launching a pair of missiles. Gilgamesh snorted in disdain before the Vimana's wings deployed and it banked and soared higher into the sky.

Berserker turned to pursue, with his missiles continuing to home in on the Vimana. Gilgamesh briefly closed his eyes as he fired another pair of swords behind him, shooting down the missiles. Roaring in fury, Berserker opened up with his Vulcan cannons and forcing Gilgamesh to concentrate more on guiding the Vimana across the sky. "Humph…" Gilgamesh snorted; and then he smiled, the King pleasantly surprised that he was actually enjoying the challenge presented by this black knight. "…perhaps you aren't a total loss after all, mad dog. Entertain me some more, all the way to your inevitable death."

Angered at the Vimana's continued evasion of his guns, Berserker launched four more missiles. Gilgamesh responded by shooting them all down, before flying higher and higher, all the while picking up more speed as he did so. The Vimana's wings folded back, the glowing green constructs shifting for optimum performance as the Vimana broke through the sound barrier. Mere seconds later, another sonic boom erupted behind Gilgamesh as Berserker's pursuing F-15 also broke through the sound barrier. Smirking, the King fired a fresh barrage of swords, all of which were either evaded or shot down by the F-15's Vulcan cannons.

* * *

"A Vimana…?" Medea said in surprise as she and Sakura observed the ongoing battles. "Now there's something I haven't seen in a long time. And the ones I knew of were meant to carry cargoes and people, and not sky-chariots like the one the King has."

"A sky-chariot…?" Sakura asked, and Medea nodded.

"The design of the Vimana is beyond even me, as the secrets of their construction were close secrets of Indian sage-magi. From what I know, Vimanas can be constructed from just about anything, although they made use of quicksilver and alcohol in their design. Furthermore, the combat variants – such as the one the King is using – were armed with rapid-fire projectile weaponry similar to modern machine guns and could deploy explosives powerful enough to destroy entire cities."

Sakura nodded at her mother's explanation before casting a spell on herself. Medea raised an eyebrow in surprise as she discerned the perception-increasing nature of her daughter's spell, wondering what she wanted to discern so badly. And then she raised both eyebrows as Sakura zoomed in on the Vimana, the little girl focusing on every aspect of the Vimana's construction, especially its wings and the way they seemed to function as they drove the sky-chariot across the sky.

"Trying to discern how the Vimana functions, my dear?" she observed, and to her utter lack of surprise Sakura nodded in reply.

"I might have some use for it." She replied absent-mindedly. "I know how to fly already, and with both elemental magecraft and eventually High Thaumaturgy I see no real need to replicate the Vimana as it appears, or for that matter the weapons it was purported to carry in ancient times."

Medea laughed indulgently and patted her on the head, bringing Sakura back into the present. "Just what did you have in mind Sakura?" she asked.

"Sabre was using a motorbike earlier." Sakura answered, calling up an image of Sabre chasing Rider on a motorbike with a wave of a hand. "But motorbikes are…well, they're products of the modern era. I'm not nearly as dully conservative as my father is, but appearances do matter. I doubt I'd make much of an impact on my fellow magi much less earn their respect if I use those crude machines."

"I see." Medea said, nodding thoughtfully. "You intend to adapt the Vimana's functions onto a…what do you call it, a motorbike design? That's rather ambitious of you. I approve. But enough of that for now and instead let us observe the battle of heroes."

* * *

Kirei rushed down the streets when he just barely noticed a blur of motion overhead overtaking him. Warned by instinct, he jumped back with Black Keys materializing between his fingers as Lancer jumped down before him, Gae Buidhe held in his hands. "Assassin's Master…" Lancer began. "…I have come to take your head in revenge for my Master, cruelly and dishonourably slain by your Servant's hands."

Kirei blinked in surprise. Apparently it would seem that the Lord El-Melloi had been assassinated, and that Caster had blamed him for this. Worse, judging from Lancer's demeanour it was apparent that the Servant wouldn't listen much less believe any of his protestations regarding the matter. "_Damn Caster…_" he angrily thought. "_…that woman is too dangerous by far. First she steals Assassin from, then she uncovers the existence of and possibly the purpose behind the Greater Grail, and now she's turned Lancer against me._"

And then Kirei was fighting for his life, Black Keys clashing against a golden spear as the Knight of the Lance came at him with Gae Buidhe aimed at his heart. Kirei deflected the strike to the side, only for Lancer to take a step back before launching a blistering barrage of stabs at Kirei, who barely managed to avoid getting skewered on the golden weapon. Lancer finished his lightning barrage with a decapitating swing, but the priest was able to avoid getting executed, jumping back on reinforced legs and throwing his Black Keys at the Servant even as he landed on his feet.

Lancer rapidly spun Gae Buidhe in his hand, deflecting all of the thrown Black Keys; simultaneously, Kirei materialized fresh black keys in his hand before leaping onto the offensive. Lancer was pressed hard, the priest stabbing and slashing ferociously but expertly with his weapons, whereas Gae Buidhe's effectiveness was quite limited at such close range. Despite the dangerous situation and the fact that Kirei was the one behind the death of his Master, Lancer began to feel the hints of respect for his opponent. This was a man who preached the Word of God, and who fought the enemies of mankind. Given he was being pressed hard he could well believe that this priest could fight and win against demons and vampires.

A Black Key breaking proved to be the opening Lancer needed, lunging forward with a cry and physically shoving a surprised Kirei back. Hefting Gae Buidhe in one hand, he threw the golden spear at Kirei as he staggered on his feet. The spear missed and lanced into the ground instead, but Lancer was already charging in and swiftly swept Kirei's feet out from under him with a sweeping kick while grabbing and pulling Gae Buidhe and swinging it down at Kirei's neck.

The priest rolled to the side, avoiding decapitation once more. Quickly getting to his feet, he threw several more Black Keys at Lancer who dodged and actually smiled at the feel of the battle. It was quite a winning smile Kirei had to admit, even as he reset his stance.

"You're a pretty good fighter yourself." Lancer commented. "I can see why you don't need to bring out Assassin to help you fight me. It would be a shame to kill someone like you, given that you probably have a good record of hunting and killing the enemies of men prior to becoming a Master…but alas, my Master must be avenged."

Briefly closing his eyes, Lancer gave a respectful bow at his opponent. "Nevertheless, know that I Diarmuid extend to you my sincerest respect for your skills on the battlefield."

"Likewise…" Kirei said, giving a bow himself. A moment of silence…and the night was once again filled with the sound of clashing blades.

* * *

"Would you look at that?" Rider said with an impressed tone of voice as Gilgamesh and Berserker's battle lit up the sky with the flash of explosions, the sparkle of prana-infused Vulcan fire, and in Berserker's case, glowing trails of prana behind his stolen jet. "Now this is how the Holy Grail War should be!"

"It's too visible." Sabre commented, watching the battle in the sky and noting the smoking ruins along the riverfront and the distant surges of prana along the seashore indicating an ongoing battle between magi. "According to the rules of the contest, any and all battles are to be kept secret from the general populace. And yet from the beginning of the contest, all our battles have been highly-visible and have left obvious evidence of combat."

"Well, from what my Master tells me Caster managed to repair the damage done to Mt Ryuudo after your little clash of arms with the princess." Rider pointed out. "And while I admit there is merit behind the rules of the contest, I also believe they are only there to guide our conduct in general terms. By nature battles between Heroic Spirits are battles between champions; it is only natural that such battles become visible and leave their mark upon the very Earth itself. Or am I wrong?"

"No, you are correct in that regard." Sabre agreed, turning to face Rider and giving a short bow. "Furthermore, are we not Kings ourselves? Do we not dictate the laws of our reign? I see now that perhaps I was mistaken in not strictly enforcing the laws I myself laid down in all cases. I shall not make that mistake again."

"Well said, King of Knights!" Rider thundered, lightning crackling around his chariot as the divine bulls bellowed and pawed at the ground. "But do not forget this Pendragon: we are who choose to be!"

"Let's do this!" Sabre shouted in response, holding Excalibur before her in a two-handed grip. Glowing motes of light began to gather around the sword, although there was a faint red tint to the gathering light. "_Once I use this sword the way it is now…_" she silently thought to herself. "_…there's no turning back. I will be walking along a new path to Avalon…the path of conquest…Mordred…is this not the path that you sought to walk? If so, then had I chosen to walk this path from the very beginning…could I have averted the dark fate that awaited us all? Guinevere…Lancelot…_"

"VIA…!" Rider roared, flicking the reins and invoking the true power of his chariot as it thundered towards the King of Knights.

"EX..." Sabre shouted, raising her sword high over her head, the red-gold light growing blindingly bright.

"…EXPUGNATIO!"

"…CALIBUR!"

* * *

"Good…very good…" Gilgamesh laughed out as he continued to dogfight with Berserker. "…this battle is the most fun I've had in a long while! If I had known that this mad dog could have provided me with such entertainment, then I've had sought him out long ago, and to hell with Tokiomi's petty little complaints."

Suddenly a red and gold beam lanced across the sky, drawing the surprised attention of both Berserker and the King of Heroes. Admittedly a curious person by nature, Gilgamesh immediately banked and came to a new heading to investigate the source of the beam, simultaneously bombarding Berserker with additional blades. Only…he wasn't there anymore. Clouded by madness his mind may have been, there was absolutely no chance of him mistaking that spiritual aura for anything else: Excalibur.

"You dare turn your back on the King?" Gilgamesh snarled, leaning over the side of his throne with his anger spiking. "When I have graced your foul madness with my approval over the entertainment it provides? Mongrel dog…! You will entertain me whether you like it or not!" With a scream of displaced air the Vimana banked and dived, golden portals opening and firing blades and other weapons from the Gate of Babylon.

Roaring defiantly, Berserker banked and spun wildly, struggling to shake the pursuing and enraged King of Heroes off of his tail. Missing, Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms slammed into the ground in massive explosions leaving behind craters that could have swallowed entire city blocks. "Yes…" the King of Heroes gloated on his throne, the Vimana continuing its relentless pursuit of the King's quarry as it desperately flew higher and over the river in an effort to lose the King. "…dance you mongrel dog! Dance and die in the King's name!"

At that point a burst of crimson and black-shot metal fragments erupted from the tail of Berserker's jet much to the King's surprise. "What…?" he barely managed to say as his crimson eyes widened with surprise, and then the Vimana exploded as prana-infused chaff tore it apart. Roaring in triumph, Berserker banks his jet and moves to search for his true quarry…only for several ancestral axes to spin through the air taking advantage of his moment of triumph to tear his own jet apart.

As the corrupted machine exploded, Berserker fell from the sky roaring with impotent fury. Impossibly enough, the insane Servant landed on his feet on Fuyuki Bridge, his landing displacing the surrounding air explosively, breaking glass and sending vehicles flying, his armoured feet cracking and cratering the ground. And he just stood there…for there was no mistaking the intense killing aura coming closer. Pedestrians and drivers fled from the monster in black standing in the middle of the road, the latter abandoning the vehicles behind them, and both taking reassurance and running in the direction of a golden-armoured blonde carrying a mace and slowly striding towards the monster.

Gilgamesh was many things; he was arrogant, vicious, greedy, and even a little childish. But he would always be a king and a hero above all else, and his spirit reflected that. And he knew it too. For even in the grip of his rage he recognized that the reason that all the people were fleeing in his direction was because they instinctively recognized that wherever he stood, there would always be safety and reassurance behind him. He was the King of Heroes after all, Humanity's first and greatest King. "Mongrel dog…!" he spat as he came closer to Berserker and the last of his subjects had fled behind him. "Stealing my treasures and using them against me during the previous battle was bad enough…but to destroy my very throne? Unforgivable…!"

Berserker roared in defiance and charged, while the air around Gilgamesh twisted and turned to gold…and a moment later Fuyuki Bridge was literally blown apart.

* * *

The seashore battlefield between Tokiomi and Kariya was covered with smoking craters and gashes where icy blades had torn up the ground, Tokiomi panting and covered with cuts and bruises on the ground, his clothing ripped and tattered. Kariya on the other hand stood knee-deep in the water, his clothes singed but otherwise he was unharmed. "Really now Tokiomi…" Kariya chided in a fashion designed to further infuriate the man. "…did you really think that I chose this location as our battleground without good reason?"

"It isn't over yet!" Tokiomi spat, leaning on his staff wearily. "I'm not finished yet, and I will not lose to a failure like you!"

Kariya narrowed his eyes as he felt Berserker take serious injury from his own battle, and decided to end the battle now. "Humph…seeing as you are looking worse off I daresay the victor of this fight is fairly clear. But I am not without honour, unlike you Tokiomi. I will allow you to retreat, or if you so choose, to prepare a high-level spell here and now. If the latter, then show the Tohsaka are worth more than their stolen heritage!"

"Shut up!" Tokiomi thundered, multiple magic circles forming around his feet as he began casting a five-line aria. Kariya raised an eyebrow but did nothing. "You've caused me nothing but trouble from the very beginning…" Tokiomi thundered as he finished casting, surrounded by massive pillars of fire, his prana reserves all but exhausted. "…vanish!"

The pillars of fire shot up into the sky and fused to form a burning dragon that immediately cast its gaze on a surprised and horrified Kariya…and then it dived down. Growling, Kariya fell to his knees and slammed both his hands into the water, manipulating and freezing it into an ice dome several inches thick. The dragon slammed into it and exploded, sending steam and hot water in every direction.

Tokiomi stands still as clouds of steam flow past him, seemingly having regained his composure. As the steam clears, he spots a body lying limply in the water, covered in burnt cloth. Tokiomi stayed still for several minutes, until he was certain his opponent was truly dead. Once he was, he calmly walked over to Kariya's body, intent on burning it to ashes for all the trouble he had caused him. As he finally reached his fallen opponent, Tokiomi's pride reasserted itself and rather than burning his corpse then and there, the man knelt down and grabbed the late Kariya by the burnt scruff of his neck, intending to see his dead rival's face for himself…and then his eyes bulged as a smirking Kariya plunged a dagger made from frozen ice and blood into Tokiomi's gut.

"Did you forget that a fully-realized Matou is capable of controlling his or her body's regeneration given sufficient prana?" Kariya spat, flesh and blood vessels bulgingly obscenely…and then they exploded, worms erupting over Tokiomi as he sprang back, struggling to get the worms off of him before they burrowed into his flesh. His flesh pulling together, Kariya placed a hand on the seawater and flashed several metres worth of it into steam to cover his escape.

"Your Servant has won the battle against my own…" Kariya taunted Tokiomi through the steam. "…but Berserker yet lives. I live. And I have spilled your blood Tokiomi. This battle is my victory."

Slamming a boot down and crushing a worm underfoot, Tokiomi roared with impotent fury "Kariya…!"

* * *

A/N

Sakura can fly by herself, so a jet-bike/gravity-bike based on the Vimana is a logical evolution of thought.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 17

Gea Buidhe swung through the air in a gleaming arc, barely missing Kirei's throat as the priest stepped back, only to lunge forward with his Black Keys in his hand. Lancer dodged before lashing out with a kick aimed at Kirei's temple, only to be blocked by a raised and reinforced arm. The two combatants sprang back, the Servant and priest alike settling back into their starting stances, although the priest was breathing heavily with exhaustion.

"It seems this is the end." Lancer commented, aiming Gae Buidhe at Kirei and jumping forward to attack. Grimacing, Kirei raised his weapons to defend himself…only for Lancer to spring back as a gleaming sword planted itself into the ground between the priest and the Knight of the Lance. "Archer…!" Lancer hissed.

"Well fought Kirei…" Gilgamesh praised the priest from where he stood atop a nearby building, who didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow in response to the King's praise. A part of Gilgamesh was irked by Kirei's cold attitude, although he ultimately decided to take the matter in stride. After all, it wasn't like the priest was ignoring him out of insolence. He was merely being focused on the foe at hand, a foe which could easily take his life in a moment of inattention. "…normally Human beings cannot match Servants apart from the Assassin-class, but you've managed to hold out this far. True, any longer and you will lose your life…but to have held out this long is truly worthy of praise."

"_Lancer…_" Sola said telepathically. "_…retreat! It seems that Berserker has been defeated. The situation is no longer in our favour! Hurry and get out of there!_"

Grimacing at the lost opportunity (or so it seemed) for Kayneth's revenge, the Knight of the Lance sprang back, intending to retreat from the battlefield…and in an instant the King's crimson eyes were on him. "You dare turn your back on the King?" he snarled. "Disappear, mongrel."

Golden portals opened and a barrage of gleaming blades shot out towards the fleeing Servant. Snarling with frustration, Lancer rapidly spun Gae Buidhe in a golden circle, deflecting all the weapons being shot at him by the impassively-staring King of Heroes. "Lancer…!" Sola cried out, inadvertently giving away her position. In an instant, Kirei was on the move and heading for the now-exposed magus.

"Lady Sola…!" Lancer shouted in concern, jumping back instead of deflecting the blades headed for him, and making to intercept Kirei before he could strike at his Master. He probably would have made it too…had not his limbs been swiftly bound by gleaming chains that shot out of golden portals around the Knight of the Lance.

"Truly…" Gilgamesh whispered with his eyes closed contemplatively as the chains also wrapped themselves around Lancer's neck. "…in times like this I can always count on you Enkidu, my dear friend." Opening his eyes, he observed the look of horror on Lancer's face as his Master fell, blood spilling from her mouth as three precise blows from Kirei's fists crushed her heart and ruptured her lungs, summoned spirits dissipating behind the priest, torn apart by his Black Keys.

"Lady Sola…!" Lancer shouted in despair, and then he too gurgled out blood as Gae Bolg speared through his heart.

"Disappear from my sight, mongrel." Gilgamesh sneered, jumping down from the building he was standing on and strolling casually towards Kirei. The priest was staring impassively at the dying Sola, who wept even as she gurgled up blood and raised a hand imploringly at Lancer as the Servant faded away into shimmering motes of light. Priest and Servant looked on as the woman drowned in her own blood, her face marked with a mixture of pain and grief. "Well Kirei…?" Gilgamesh asked. "Have you found what truly makes you who you are?"

Kirei didn't answer, merely kneeling down and softly gave a prayer for the dead woman's soul. Standing up, he made for the direction of Tokiomi's battlefield. "Tokiomi requires assistance it would seem." Kirei said over his shoulder, refusing to meet Gilgamesh's eyes.

The King merely smirked with satisfaction. Berserker had apparently survived, much to his irritation, but he had marked the bastard, and he could afford to let him go for now. Who knows? Perhaps the mad dog could entertain him some more later on. As for Kirei…it was only a matter of time. The man would seek him out soon, and Gilgamesh could be patient. For now, let the priest tend to his mongrel employer…things would get interesting soon enough.

* * *

The gang member collapsed to the ground with a gurgle, a frozen blade buried into his throat. As he fell to the ground dying, an insect familiar latched onto him with its poisonous fangs, and began to glow faintly as it leached the dying man's life force and transferred it to the controlling spell-caster. Kariya stood between the dead and dying would-be rapists and their cowering would-be victim, his eyes closed as he processed the gathering prana. "_This is utterly disgusting._" He thought bitterly to himself. "_I am never going to do this again if I can help it, at least once this stupid war is over._"

Opening his eyes with an unhappy sigh, he turned to regard the terrified high school girl behind him. "W-what are you?" she stammered out, her eyes wide with fear.

"A monster…" he replied. "…a monster who happens to appear Human."

A moment and another sigh later, he reached down with a hand to the girl, who whimpered piteously. "Don't worry…" he said with a comforting smile. "…I'm not going to kill you. I just need to make sure you don't remember this or even me for that matter. I also need you to take a good long nap for now."

Naturally enough the girl wasn't comforted one bit, although she quickly fell asleep even as Kariya altered her memories. Taking a step back once he was finished, he took a look around him and regarded the dead gangers. All the prana that could be gotten from them had been taken, and Kariya immediately gave most of it to his Servant, which greedily consumed the offered energy and immediately used it to speed up its recovery from the injuries it had taken from its battle with Archer.

Dismissing his familiars, Kariya made to leave the incomplete apartment complex…and immediately raised his guard as he felt a Servant's presence. "Assassin…?" he said softly as he swept his eyes across the shadows, ready to summon his Servant at a moment's notice.

"I'm surprised you decided not to take the girl's life force as well." A sultry voice spoke out of the shadows, and Kariya relaxed a fraction as he recognized the voice from the battle over at the docks earlier during the war.

"I'm not Zouken, Caster." Kariya said. "Those little pieces of shit deserved to die for what they were about to do, and I'd place a confident wager that this isn't the first the first time they did it too. Kids these days…"

"What about the prisoners at the prison?"

"Everyone who died deserved to die." Kariya said with an uncaring shrug. "The other crooks I merely roughed up a bit, and everyone else I just put down to a little sleep."

"I see…" Caster replied, before a patch of shadow melted away and revealed an elfin woman dressed like a typical housewife leaning against a nearby wall. "…I must say you have a commendable sense of poetic justice."

"…not really…" Kariya disagreed while shaking his head. "…poetic justice is fine and well if it's done without any form of Human intervention otherwise it merely becomes a case of vigilantism. That isn't right; the only reason I do this is out of necessity, and even then my circumstances merely lessen the extent of my guilt, and don't really justify it."

"In that case you truly are an impressive man, Mr Kariya." Caster observed with a tone of respect in her voice. "I can see what Sakura sees in you. She was very happy after what you did to her father earlier, although she was a bit disappointed that you didn't just kill him then and there."

"To be honest, raising that little dome of ice and regenerating my body took most of my prana reserves." Kariya explained. "Making a dagger to stab Tokiomi with and flashing the seawater to steam to cover my escape was quite a strain too, and that's without taking Berserker into account. And Tokiomi is a master of close combat; with low prana to sustain my familiars with, I'm not risking going hand-to-hand with the man. It's just too risky."

Caster raised an eyebrow. "Very prudent…" she agreed. "…but I strongly suspect that there was an ulterior motive hidden in your little confrontation…just as I suspect that you had no real intention of actually killing him. Or am I wrong?"

"No, you're right." Kariya confirmed with a smirk. "My ultimate goal was not to kill Tokiomi, but rather to destroy his pride. And I have done that quite well if I may say so."

Caster laughed approvingly, and Kariya quickly joined in. "Lancer and Assassin have both fallen." She told a surprised Kariya several moments of laughter later. "The war has finally entered its intermediate phase. In that light, and considering Sakura's fondness and regard for you, I've decided to discuss with you the possibility of long-term cooperation."

"How long-term are we talking about?"

Caster smiled. "I've no intention of losing. Let us discuss the future, Mr Kariya…"

* * *

"Damn Kariya…!" Tokiomi roared in drunken rage, throwing a half-full bottle of wine against the wall where it shattered. "How dare he harm my person? That good for nothing spell-caster…!"

"Please calm yourself." Kirei said soothingly as he packed up his equipment. "Allowing yourself to be agitated to this extent will not solve the situation, and may actually exacerbate it. Your injury…"

"To hell with my injuries…!" Tokiomi raved. "I want that disgusting excuse for a magus' head before me! And I'd probably have gotten it too, if you weren't so incompetent to lose Assassin to that worthless Caster! Caster…! That damn bitch! How dare she mess up my plans for Sakura? Sakura was my daughter! Mine…! She'll do what I tell her to do, and to hell with the consequences!"

Kirei just stood there slack-jawed and wide-eyed, unable to match the drunken and raving man before him with the cultured and urbane magus he knew. "_Is this…is this really the same person?_" he silently and incredulously asked himself. "_He's like a completely different person!_" And then his blood ran cold at the sight of Aoi entering the room to investigate the shouting and the sound of glass breaking. "_This is not going to end well._" He thought grimly to himself, watching as Aoi tried to calm her husband down…only be sent tumbling to the floor with the sound of striking flesh, staring wide-eyed and in shock at her husband as he loomed over her.

"Be quiet…" Tokiomi snarled. "…you little bitch."

Kirei swallowed convulsively as he watched Tokiomi manhandle his wife to her feet before dragging her up the stairs, ranting and raving all the while. Pulling out a handkerchief, the priest dabbed away the cold sweat that had built up on his forehead before looking for a phone to contact his father…only to remember that Tokiomi being Tokiomi had no telephone of his own. "_This is insane…_" the priest said as he rushed out of the house and swiftly sought to make his way to his father's church. "_…it would seem that beneath that façade Tokiomi is no different from his father. Poor Aoi…and poor Rin too if that man goes too far…_"

* * *

"This is a nice place…" Kariya observed cheerfully while digging eagerly into his order of Shepherd's Pie with gusto, with Caster opposite him savouring her serving of tea and raspberry pie. "…I never expected a place like this would be open at a time like this. Apart from fast food chains and some hotels, most restaurants would be closed already."

"It's nice isn't it?" Caster agreed, looking around Ahnenerbe's interior and briefly regarding the cats (?) manning the place. "Sakura and I found this place a few months ago. It can be a bit strange once in a while though; why last month we ran into this strange schoolgirl with purple hair and eyes. Nothing really seemed off about her by sight…but her spiritual aura was disturbing to say the least. Sakura wouldn't go near her at all. She said the other girl felt 'wrong' and that comes from a girl who flies around the territory in her free time."

"Wait; Sakura can fly?"

"Oh yes…" Caster said beaming. "...I taught her how to fly, but while for me it's a strictly utilitarian tool, Sakura loves to fly. I actually have to constantly remind her not to be seen flying around. Gods know how much trouble that would cause."

"I see…" Kariya said before taking a drink. "…she's happy then?"

"Yes."

"Then I can rest easy.

"…for now."

"Agreed…" Kariya said with a nod. "…so what are your plans?"

"I will have to adjust them given some new information that recently came to light." Caster replied while setting up a bounded field to prevent people from eavesdropping or magically spying on them. "Prior to your little bout with Tokiomi – an excellent show by the way – you implied the Tohsaka Clan had a connection with the House of Edelfelt. I assume they are one of the Great Houses of modern magi, and I also assume that whatever that connection is it could be used to great effect by the enemies of the Tohsaka Clan. Furthermore, I doubt you were simply bluffing, considering Tokiomi's reaction…unless you know not the details?"

"I know the details." Kariya said, swallowing a forkful of Shepherd's Pie. "Depending on how it's used, Sakura could use it to gain a place within the House of Edelfelt. Well technically she already has the right to be part of the House of Edelfelt, but considering the nature of things an incentive will be needed for her to be accepted."

"I assume you're referring to her sorcery trait." Caster said neutrally and Kariya nodded.

"I know that Sakura's sorcery trait – prior to her blood adoption I assume – was Imaginary Numbers." He said. "According to Ms Sola, while it's rare it's also not very valuable considering the obscure and rather limited forms of magecraft which apply to the Sixth Imaginary Element. It's worth an 'Iron' designation, but between the limitations of Imaginary Numbers and Sakura's original lack of elemental affinities I doubt that would be sufficient for her acceptance into a Great House."

"But…" Caster said, urging her companion onwards.

"Divine Words is an impossibly rare sorcery trait." Kariya continued. "According to the Noble Colours its designation is 'Jewel'. If it weren't for the fact that it can be inherited by her descendants Sakura would be branded with a sealing designation because of it. However between it and her rare wind – or noble – elemental affinity – I saw her use lightning so it was easy to conclude she now has an elemental affinity for wind since lightning is under wind just as ice is under water – the House of Edelfelt would give her a warm welcome. In fact they'd welcome her with more than just open arms – they'd welcome her as a long-lost cousin finally returning triumphant from undeserved exile."

"At which point we return to the Tohsaka Clan's connection with the House of Edelfelt..."

"Precisely…" Kariya interrupted with a nod. "…Sakura's grandparents on her father's side are Kirito and Asuna Tohsaka. At least that's what the legal documentation in both mundane and magical societies read. The truth is that 'Asuna' is not Sakura's paternal grandmother's real name. You see there were two Edelfelt Masters from the Third Holy Grail War. They were more than relatives too. In fact they were twin sisters, and they both possessed magic crests thanks to the Edelfelt sorcery trait Ore Scales."

"I think I'm beginning to see where this is going." Caster said, beginning to look sick. "Gods let me be wrong…"

"Unfortunately if you're thinking what I know…you're very right. One sister's name is Katrina Edelfelt, and she's currently the Head of House Edelfelt. Her sister was Maria Edelfelt, and she never went home and her family never succeeded in recovering her crest. And the reason behind that is horrifyingly simple: she was placed under geis by Kirito Tohsaka and was forced to remain in Japan as his wife. Her crest was incorporated into the Tohsaka Crest, and while the House of Edelfelt has had their suspicions for over fifty years now, they've never really had the proof they needed to have the Association officially impose sanctions on the Tohsaka Clan."

"Gods no…what happened to…"

"What happened to Maria Edelfelt?" Kariya asked rhetorically, his face dark with disgust. "After giving birth to Tokiomi, her existence vanishes completely. Not even Zouken was able to find out what happened to her in the end. All we know is that the grave beside Kirito Tohsaka's own is empty. Just something to keep up appearances I suppose. Needless to say, strip away the façade of culture and refinement and you will find the Tohsaka Clan to be among the lowest of magi bloodlines, far below even my own clan during its heyday as the Makiri."

"I see…" Caster said thoughtfully, placing her teacup down. The two sat in companionable silence for several moments before Caster nodded. "…very well; it seems that we can use Sakura's connection with the House of Edelfelt, not just to gain a proper place within the Association, but also to rebuild your clan."

"My clan…?" Kariya echoed in surprise.

"Indeed…" Caster said with a nod. "…Colchis is a good name and all but it might attract some unwanted attention. However if we can get rid of Zouken, and use Sakura's gifts and her connections properly, the Matou name and its material assets may prove more useful in this dull modern era than my own name."

"You're Medea aren't you?" Kariya asked softly.

"I am; is there a problem?"

"That depends; what is Sakura to you?"

"She is my daughter." Medea answered, her lips curling into a faint smile. "That is all that needs to be said on the matter."

Kariya was silent for a long moment before he asked "Are you trying to atone for the past?"

"Perhaps…" Medea answered, closing her eyes as she did so. "…to be honest all I wanted when I was summoned in this war was to start a new life free of the condemning chains of my past, and to find some peace in life after so long."

"I see…" Kariya said, slowly nodding his head. "…well there's no need to worry. After everything I've done in this stupid little war, I've no right to judge your past actions or your desires. In fact from what I know about your legend, you never did anything without any justification. And more importantly…you saved Sakura from that abomination. You made her happy. And that's enough for me to accept you as you are."

Medea didn't bother to reply. She simply nodded in acknowledgement of Kariya's understanding. "In any case…" she finally said after the silence between the two of them had begun to grow uncomfortable. "…all this talk about the Great Houses and the Association will have to wait until after the war ends."

"Agreed…" Kariya said, sitting back in his chair. "…my ally has apparently been defeated and killed. With this talk of ours I can safely assume we're now allies; have you any plans to share?"

Medea smirked and said "I have a few ideas."

* * *

A/N

Funny, what with Luviagelita being the heiress of House Edelfelt (at least I think she is in canon) in this AU she is Rin and Sakura's second cousin.

Yes, the reference to SAO is deliberate. Yes, I hate Kirito. In fact I hate the whole series as I see it as a mockery of my beloved .hack/ franchise.

Yes, the purple-haired and purple-eyed schoolgirl Sakura and Medea met in Ahnenerbe (which is a place described as "…people who under normal circumstances cannot meet each other are able to meet inside…") was canon Sakura. Neither party recognized the other, although our AU pairing felt the inner darkness of the canon character.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 18

"Why didn't you use Ionian Hetairoi?" Waver asked Rider as they sat together eating breakfast in an out of the way corner of a small restaurant by the seashore. "If you had used it, I'm sure you could have defeated Sabre even after she destroyed your chariot. Instead you simply used it for a split second to get us out of harm's way…"

"We're alive aren't we?" Rider countered. "That counts as winning in my book if you ask me."

"But…"

"In any case despite the loss of my chariot I consider our previous encounter with Sabre to be a victory for us." Rider continued. "Sabre has finally broken free of her chains. The dream still drives her on, but now she will not be blinded by its light, and she can properly work on opening the road that leads to it."

"I don't understand." Waver said with a confused voice. "You accused Sabre of being a little girl because she was enthralled by her dreams, yet you yourself pursue your dream of going further than all others before you."

"And how do you know about my dreams?" Rider asked crossly and causing Waver to flinch…and then he grinned knowingly. "You've been seeing my memories haven't you? Well I suppose I don't mind. You are my Master after all."

"Listen Waver…" Rider continued, leaning forward and explaining patiently. "…dreams are what drive men. They guide us, shape us into who are, and teach us important things about life…but it is how we make our dreams reality that truly define us. In life Pendragon sought to create a peaceful and prosperous realm for her people, but while that isn't a bad goal, the way she sought to accomplish it by carrying all the burdens herself merely ensured that her dream would never become reality. She never gave them someone higher to look up to, someone to inspire future generations to come. And so they became dependent on her, and in her absence were left without knowing what to do, for she had not left them with anything to build on.

"I on the other hand was a tyrant. I will not deny that fact. I lived grandly and had insane ambitions. But I gave those who followed me a dream. I gave them a dream wherein they too could be part of something greater than themselves, and would leave their mark on the world that would never be forgotten. Our realm was lost in the wake of my death, but I and those that stood with me will never regret or look back upon our mistakes. Our legacy is the belief that great men can change the world, and that dreams can shake the very Heavens themselves. Caesar, Napoleon, even Washington and the other founding fathers of the Americans and many other great men and women across time and space have taken on my dream of going beyond the limitations imposed on us by fate and have followed in my footsteps. I am content. My dream became reality, and it took on a life of its own. It is a miracle in itself. And that is the difference between Sabre and I."

Rider paused and looked out the window, staring out over the sea. "She took on all the burdens by herself, kept her dream to herself and told those who followed her simply to trust in her. She didn't trust in others, and in so doing her dream died with her. I trusted in those that followed me. I shared my dream with them and with those whom I conquered, giving them all a place under my roof and on my table. I willingly and freely gave away my dream, and ensured that it would not end with my death. No, I have conquered death and will live forever so long as others continue to believe in themselves and in their ability to make their visions reality."

Waver looked troubled, thinking back to his conversation with his older self within the Ionian Hetairoi.

_Flashback Begins_

"_Believe in myself…?" Waver echoed, and the Lord El-Melloi II nodded in response. "But I'm…"_

"…_you don't have any outstanding talents?" the Lord El-Melloi II finished. "You're not respected by your fellow magi in the Clock Tower? You don't have any connections to take advantage of? If you keep thinking like that, then you might as well quit being a magus altogether."_

"_Now wait just a minute…!" Waver said angrily, getting to his feet outraged at the sneering tone of his older self who looked at him with a faux expression of surprise._

"_Oh…? You have a spine after all…if so, then stop being so timid! Just because you're not a genius or have an influential family doesn't mean you can't become great yourself! Work and study hard, and find your own strength! The first magi had even less than you and the other first generation of this time and age have now, but just look at how far their descendants have come."_

_Waver looked ashamed of himself and the Lord El-Melloi II sighed wearily. "If you can't get what I just told you, then let me tell you something else. There were those who called our King a foolish dreamer, someone who would waste his life on a futile pursuit. But…where are they now? What has become of them? They are nothing. They lived their petty little lives forsaken of all higher pursuits and have been lost to the sands of history. Our King risked everything to chase his dream and will live forever so long as his name will be remembered. We risked everything to follow his banner, and so we too will not simply vanish into endless time, and will march by our King for all eternity."_

_Waver and the Lord El-Melloi II looked on as Rider and his army annihilated the Assassins, and then shook the sky with their victory cries. "Our King believes in you. He allowed you to stand by his side. He allowed you to become his Master. Don't you think it's about time you did the same, and you started to believe in yourself?"_

_Flashback Ends_

Waver closed his eyes briefly before looking at Rider resolutely. "May I have your dream as well then?" he asked, and Rider looked at him curiously. "I'm not a very good magus to be honest, and I don't own much either, and I'm still a bit of a coward at heart, but even so…"

Waver looked out the window and over the sea. "…I still want to become greater than who I am right now."

"I'll be counting on you then Waver." Rider said approvingly.

"Yes my King!"

"But before that…" Rider continued worriedly, sitting back in his chair. "…we still have a number of foes to defeat. Sabre has freed herself, and will seek the Holy Grail. Archer yet lives, and soon Caster will have to choose her side. And more than likely, she will side with the King of Heroes."

* * *

Gilgamesh laughed his heart out as he met with Kirei in Kotomine Church. Risei had gone out to discuss certain matters with Tokiomi, leaving his son alone in the church…until the King of Heroes had seen fit to grace Kirei with his presence. "So Tokiomi finally shows his true colours…" Gilgamesh said gleefully. "…somehow I am not surprised that below that thin veneer of false culture the man is just another brute."

"With all due respect King of Heroes…" Kirei interjected with a bow. "…the way the man treated his wife last night was rather disturbing in my humble opinion."

"Oh…?" Gilgamesh commented with a raised eyebrow. "Have you a wife and children of your own then, Kirei?"

Kirei closed his eyes and thought of Caren and her mother before giving a reply. "I had a wife once, and I cared for her in my own way. And yes, I have a child: Caren. She is being raised by her mother's relatives. But even I would not treat them as Tokiomi treats his family."

"Humph…" Gilgamesh snorted. "…family is the greatest treasure any Human being could ever possess. Even I would not begrudge my subjects of that. I too had parents for whom I cared for, and who cared for me. Tokiomi is a fool for taking such things for granted, and then throwing it aside for convenience's sake. But enough about that; Kirei earlier you mentioned that even you would not treat your family as Tokiomi treats his own. The key there are the words: 'even I'. Why is that?"

Kirei was silent for a long time before he finally gave a reply. "I…I have never found contentment in my life. Even under the care of my parents I always found myself discontented with how I am. So I turned to faith, believing that service to the Lord would give me peace. It did not. I sought contentment in love and family, but even my wife and daughter could not give me peace. At least…not in life…"

"Explain…" Gilgamesh said softly, his eyes narrowing.

"Claudia – my wife – she was ill. Death was inevitable, but in the end she chose to commit suicide in an effort to grant me peace by invoking the grief brought about by the loss of a loved one to prove that I had a Human heart. But it didn't bring peace…"

"Did you find enjoyment in her death then, Kirei?"

"No…" Kirei said, his fists clenching. "…instead I found dismay; dismay that I could not kill her with my own hands."

"I see…" Gilgamesh said with a nod. "…you are someone who finds pleasure in the death and suffering of others. And that is why you seek the Holy Grail: not to change yourself, but rather to know why you are such a person. Or am I wrong?"

Kirei looked stricken but did not say anything. Chuckling, Gilgamesh continued "But what is so wrong in simply being yourself? If that is the way you are, then embrace it. Do not run from yourself and from the darkness within you; it only brings self-destruction. I promise you this much priest: you will find life so much easier and enjoyable if you simply give in and simply be yourself."

"But…!"

"Yes, I suppose you will become a psychopathic murderer that takes pleasure in his victims' suffering and death if you do so." Gilgamesh shrugged and continued "If that bothers you so much then I grant you permission to do as you please. Torment and kill to your heart's content as many of my subjects as you see desire; it shall be a test of their worthiness before me. Most of those that live in my garden in this time and age are little more than pale mongrels, however you have faced and survived the vile monsters born of Humanity and of Gaea. If you become a monster then it falls to another or to others to kill you. And I shall acknowledge them as I shall acknowledge should you choose to accept yourself."

Kirei was silent once more before giving a bow and turning to leave. "I…" he began in a whisper. "…I shall…I shall need to think over this matter at length."

Gilgamesh waved him off dismissively before vanishing in a golden swirl of light. "By all means, go ahead and ponder the matter. But do not ponder for too long priest; this war shall come to a head soon, and this very night I shall seek to challenge the King of Conquerors. He has survived the King of Knights' sword – Humanity's greatest sword as it is – and is now more than worthy to face me. And I shall strike him down with my own hand, as befits a worthy challenger to the King of Heroes."

* * *

Elsewhere a blue-haired girl was sitting all by herself on a tree branch while looking into her seeing stone, spying on Kirei and Gilgamesh's conversation. School had been cancelled that day given the devastation of the intense battles of the previous night, and it seemed as though the Holy Grail War was truly coming into its final bloody phase. "_Father Kotomine…_" Sakura thought to herself, her unnaturally-mature mind racing as she thought of a plan to take advantage of the situation. "_…I think I'll pay you a visit here and now. If things go well, then I can meet father once again. And I will have my revenge._"

Jumping down from her tree, Sakura ran back to her room and began looking for her jewel box. Finding it, she immediately fished out and put on the crown given to her by the King and spent a few moments admiring her image in a mirror. "Modern clothes don't really suit it." She finally said critically. Sighing (but not removing her crown), she focused her mind onto her destination: a deserted corner of an intersection towards which a troubled priest was walking. "…**Tροψα**."

The sensation of teleporting by herself and with her power alone was rather…interesting. It wasn't painful, but very disorienting as though she was being impossibly stretched out and funnelled through an impossibly tiny hole through the fabric of time and space to her destination. The disorientation faded quickly enough, but she felt drained by the trip. Fortunately she had a few prana potions on her person, something her mother had insisted she have at all times in case had to fight a magic-intensive battle with her still-limited prana reserves.

"This always tastes disgusting." She grumbled as she drank two of the potions and was stowing the empty vials back into her pocket when Kirei turned the corner and came face to face with her.

"You…!" he said in shock, springing back and drawing his Black Keys.

"I'm not here to fight, Father Kotomine." She said, rolling her eyes at him and Kirei relaxed by the smallest fraction. "I'm here to talk about a test."

"A test…?" he echoed, confused by her words.

"I was…spying on your conversation with the King." She said, looking completely untroubled by the fact, although Kirei's glance briefly flickered to the crown she was wearing and noted its Sumerian design. "I don't mean to insult him, but maybe the King of Heroes was too abstract in his argument. So I suggest a test. Tonight the King will confront Rider, and you must convince my father to watch the battle in person; if the King is defeated, then you are in the prime position to see father humbled before Rider. If he is victorious, then my mother shall reveal the true nature of the Holy Grail to the King, and once again you will be in a prime position to see my father face the King's justice."

"The true nature…so, Caster knows of the true purpose of the Holy Grail?"

"Of course she does."

"What reason do I have to agree with your test little girl?" Kirei countered. "I could simply cut off your arm with the command spells and then take you back to your father here and now."

"True…" Sakura said, mentally cursing that she had not considered this possibility. "…but if you did that you'd lose a chance to know the truth: are you really someone who enjoys the suffering of others? Or are you simply someone discontented by nature? Your previous experience is only one piece of evidence; it could be a fluke. Twice, however, is not something that can be so easily dismissed."

"What about you?" Kirei countered once more, although an increasingly vocal part of himself was urging him to accept Sakura's proposal, intrigued by the prospect of seeing the proud Tokiomi broken before his very eyes. "What do you have to gain from this?"

Sakura laughed at his words, a laugh that sent shivers down his spine. On one hand, he was horrified at the girl's laugh, the cruel laugh of a magus and a wronged woman that should not come from the mouth of a six year-old child. On the other hand, it was like meeting a kindred spirit, a sentiment reinforced by the sight of her ice-cold eyes – Tokiomi's eyes but filled with life and power the man did not possess – gazing back at him. "Did you forget something? My father tried to feed me to a vampire. I only want to see him pay."

Kirei stared back at her for a few moments before giving an assenting nod. Bowing back, Sakura took a step back and said "…**Tροψα**."

"Sakura…" Medea asked, running worriedly towards her as she appeared in her mother's territory. "…where'd you go?" Grinning, Sakura told her mother her plan for tonight's action…and the territory echoed with Medea's approving laughter.

* * *

"Are you sure it's from Tohsaka?" Rider asked cautiously. "For all we know it could be some ploy of Emiya's."

"No, that's very unlikely." Waver replied even as he took the familiar which had delivered Gilgamesh's challenge to Rider apart. "The jewel magecraft at the core of this familiar is undoubtedly of Tohsaka design. The style behind it is reminiscent of those used by Zelretch whenever he makes lectures at the Clock Tower and his students, but in this city only the Tohsaka have that style. After all, their founder Nagato was also one of Zelretch's students."

"I see…" Rider said thoughtfully, looking out over the sea dyed red by the setting Sun. "…in that case tonight I shall face the King of Heroes." Rider finished before looking at Waver. "It's going to be a battle like no other. We'll be putting our lives on the line. I'll understand if…"

"What are you saying Rider?" Waver protested angrily. "Didn't I say I would accept your dream? If I can't stand by your side in this crucial moment, then I don't have the right to use your dream as my own! That's why, I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not!"

Rider continued to look at Waver for several moments before grinning. "That's the spirit!" he said, placing an arm around his Master's shoulders and pulling him close. "But I'll only let you come and to have my dream on one condition!"

"And that is…?"

Rider let him go before standing up and offering a hand. "Stand by my side, not as my Master or as my subject, but as a friend."

Waver was silent for a moment before smiling and giving a chuckle. "Then allow me to accept your offer with a suitable present." He replied, taking the offered hand even as a command spell glowed and vanished. "By the power of a command spell, I order you Rider to possess the power to fight Archer at your full strength."

"You…!"

"There are two more command spells. That should be enough to fight two other Servants. As for the third, I suppose all we can do is hope that he or she has fallen before we have to fight."

"Hmmm…but what happens when you run out of command spells Waver?"

"By that point we'll have the Holy Grail at hand." Waver replied, falling into step beside his friend and King as they walked away from their current hideout. "I'll have no further need for command spells."

"Confident, aren't you?" Rider said in jest with a grin. "Then my friend let us go and meet our destiny."

"Yes my King!"

* * *

A pair of sandaled feet settled on the ground before the Tohsaka Estate, Sakura looking at the wrought iron gates with a mix of nostalgia and hatred. Half an hour ago Gilgamesh had left to face the King of Conquerors along with Kirei and her father. There had been an emotional scene wherein Tokiomi had sincerely apologized to Aoi for something that had happened the previous night and which the weakling woman had accepted with a wifely adjustment to her husband's clothing, but both Medea and Sakura were beyond caring. Medea was already waiting for the outcome of the upcoming battle to make her move, while Sakura had impatiently waited for the opportune moment to claim her hostage.

Raising a hand she felt out the edges of the bounded field and chuckled with amusement. "Very impressive…" she said, drawing out the same silver knife she used to offer sacrifices to the gods and using it to cut her finger and splattering her blood out along the edge of the bounded field. "…but not nearly impressive enough…"

Once again she raised her hand to touch the edges of the bounded field while simultaneously extending her mind using her spilled Tohsaka blood to remotely access the magic circles engraving the conceptual functions of the spell. "Let's see…" she murmured. "…there's the detection function…paralysis function…incendiary function…ah! There are the kickers; the prana accumulator and distribution arrays…if we tweak it like so…and done!"

Smirking with satisfaction she took a step back as she felt the prana of the bounded field begin to destabilize, a faint purple glow and a sickly smell suffusing the air within the grounds of the Tohsaka Estate…and then with showers of sparks, magic circles across the estate and the manor fizzled out as the bounded field shorted out and the gathered prana dispersed back into the World. Reinforcing her arms, she tore the gates open before stepping forwards onto the now unprotected Tohsaka Estate, her pace calm and unhurried like a noblewoman come to claim her property.

A whip-like movement of an arm sent a blast of lightning that blew the doorway of the manor inwards. "Homecomings are so emotional…" she commented in a jesting fashion as she walked over the rubble, her smirk growing more pronounced as she saw Aoi and Rin run into the foyer only to stop with horrified gasps and expressions. "Ah sister…!" Sakura greeted Rin cheerfully. "Unfortunately I've no business with you, so I need you to sleep for a while."

Smiling devilishly, Sakura lashed out with a brief burst of lightning from both hands and sent Rin flying back through the air to slam against the back wall of the foyer before crumpling to the ground unconscious. "Rin…!" Aoi shouted in alarm before turning to Sakura with an outraged expression…only for her to begin to gasp and fumble with trembling hands at her neck as invisible fingers began to choke her.

"Mrs Tohsaka…" Sakura continued with her devilish smile and poisonous voice. "…I have come to invite you to tonight's play! The first act shall be a clash of titans, a battle between two mighty kings. The second act shall be a trial for a criminal charged with a grave crime. And the final act shall be the aforementioned criminal's public execution."

Cackling evilly, Sakura tossed a small glass orb over to a suffocating Aoi. The orb shattered as it hit the ground, trapping Aoi in a bubble even as she gasped and breathed heavily after being released from Sakura's stranglehold. The transparent prison floated over to Sakura who looked into Aoi's tearful eyes. "Needless to say Mrs Tohsaka, your attendance is mandatory."

* * *

A/N

One may be guided onto the dark path, but to actually walk the path requires a free choice to allow the darkness to dominate one's destiny. Next chapter: a new fallen angel spreads her blackened wings as her tarnished halo reflects the darkness of her soul.

Physically Sakura is six years-old. Mentally and emotionally, at times she has the characteristics of a twelve year-old considering all the knowledge Medea's packed into her head and everything's she's gone through.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 19

"You brought an audience along with you I see." Rider commented as he and Waver met up with Gilgamesh and his companions at the latter's chosen battlefield. "I'm surprised that your Master deigned to leave the safety of his stronghold to join us though."

"It was Kirei's idea." Gilgamesh said with an approving smirk. "He said that a battle between Kings would need an appropriate audience."

"I quite agree." Rider said with a solemn nod. "But before we begin...as I recall we never did finish emptying that jar of wine from before."

"What of it?"

"Come now; it would be an insult to our shared experience of such fine wine if one of us were to slay the other without drinking to both our health and to death."

Gilgamesh laughed. "True, true…" he said, beckoning Rider closer. Rider dismounted, leaving Waver behind with Bucephalus, the young man staring apprehensively at both Kirei and Tokiomi behind Gilgamesh. "…but now let me ask you this Rider: you lost your chariot to Sabre, and yet here you are to meet my challenge. Can you really face me as a King without it?"

"Of course I can." Rider said, holding out a hand and catching the golden cup that fell out of a golden portal along with the near-empty jar of wine. "In fact you could say that its loss will only highlight my status as a King all the more."

"So you say…" Gilgamesh conceded, holding out his own cup and letting Rider fill it. "…if so, then I shall judge your claim personally."

"I look forward to it." Rider said, toasting Gilgamesh who returned the gesture before taking a drink. "Ah, now that hits the spot. It's such a shame that Sabre and Caster are not here, whether to share of this drink or to observe our coming battle."

"Indeed…" Gilgamesh agreed, not realizing that both the sorceress and her daughter were flying high overhead and watching the scene while cloaked in shadow, the latter accompanied by a transparent prison carrying Aoi Tohsaka.

The two drank in companionable silence, emptying and refilling their cups twice before the gilded jar fell empty to the ground. "I have a question, King of Heroes."

"You dare question the King?" Gilgamesh said with faux bellicosity. "That's just like you. Very well, I shall suffer it this time: ask away."

"Your Gate of Babylon carries only the finest weapons of history, does it not?" Rider asked. Gilgamesh did not reply, but his silence was answer enough. "You have yet to see it, but I assure you I can manifest my loyal followers in this time and age. If we join forces, and my endless armies are given weapons from the Gate of Babylon, then nothing could possibly hope to stand against us. Even the very stars themselves will fall into our hands. So how about it King of Heroes? Won't you join forces with me?"

Gilgamesh laughed again, although there was respect now mixed with the laughter. "I will take your word for it, King of Conquerors. I cannot and will not believe that you are bluffing when you say you can bring forth your armies into this world. But alas, I cannot accept your offer, and I must offer you my apologies. Past, present, or future, I have only one friend. I have no need, or desire, for another. The world also has no need for two Kings."

"That's a shame." Rider said sadly, toasting Gilgamesh again with the last of his wine, and once again the King of Heroes returned the gesture. The last of the King's wine consumed, the two Kings turned away from each other, tossing their golden cups into the air behind them, the two Kings walking away from each other as the cups fell with a clatter on the ground, and dissolving into golden light mere moments afterwards as they returned to the Gate of Babylon.

"Aren't you tempted, Tokiomi?" Gilgamesh taunted the man warningly as he came within earshot. "You wish to strike down Rider's Master and defeat the King of Conquerors before the battle begins, do you not? Let me warn you now mongrel: this is a battle of Kings, and I will suffer no interference."

Tokiomi bowed in deference to the King, who turned to face his opponent across the chosen battleground. "Are you scared Waver?" Rider asked his Master as they both mounted Bucephalus.

"I'm terrified." The boy replied, swallowing nervously as he did so. "But should I use your words and say that I'm excited instead?"

"No…" Rider replied. "…it's alright if you're scared. The next question should be: will you still ride with me?"

"Yes…" Waver answered without any hesitation. "…I will ride with you, against the King of Heroes and the promise of death he represents."

"So be it…" Rider said, briefly closing his eyes…and then he drew his sword and raised it into the air before shouting "…come forth: Army of the King!"

A burst of light and prana accompanied the King of Conqueror's command, the glowing sphere of light encompassing the battlefield and pulling Gilgamesh, Tokiomi, and Kirei into the reality marble, along with the still-unseen Caster and Sakura as well as the latter's hostage.

"My dear friends…" Rider thundered as the sand whipped around him and Waver and partially obscuring the countless soldiers of the ancient empire standing loyally behind their King. "…my legendary heroes and loyal soldiers: before us stands the eldest of Heroic Spirits himself! The King of Heroes of Ancient Uruk: Gilgamesh! Death stands before us, and we have no guarantee of victory! But even so, follow me to glory, and let us prove ourselves before the first and greatest of the Kings of Men!"

The thunderous reply shook the very fabric of the reality marble, and causing even Tokiomi and Kirei's spirits to quail, the former being forced to take a step back. Gilgamesh closed his eyes respectfully, and made no move to pre-empt Rider's charge. Judgment had been passed, and the King of Heroes had accepted the King of Conqueror's challenge. And meet it he would.

"Ride…" Rider roared, goading Bucephalus into a charge. Behind the King's charger the King's soldiers followed in his wake – Greeks and Macedonians in iron plate and plumed helmets, Assyrians in scale mail, Indians in cotton robes and many other soldiers of many lands and tongues – their battle cries splitting the Heavens with red and gold banners flying over them. "…ride and conquer the world, Ionian Hetairoi!"

"So this is the mark of your royalty, King of Conquerors." Gilgamesh observed with respect and satisfaction. "You are truly a rebel worthy of my attention, you to whom the loyalty of your retainers surpasses even death, time, and space."

Gilgamesh chuckled and sadly looked to the sky. "Enkidu my friend had we had met him in our time, could the three of us perhaps have become friends?"

There was no answer, but the King of Heroes chuckled yet again as though someone unseen and unheard had answered his question. "I see…" Gilgamesh said sadly. "…King of Conquerors, your kingship is based on a dream shared by you and all who follow you. The dream's strength is such that reality itself bends to your will…but alas, dreams and reality cannot become one. As the King of Heroes, I shall awaken you myself!"

The King of Heroes held out a hand, a golden portal opening and dropping out a key-shaped sword into his hand. A useless weapon on the battlefield, the key sword served only one purpose: to manually open and access the Gate of Babylon. For while the King of Heroes could and often did open and often did use the Gate without it, such formality was necessary against this enemy. Raising the key sword before him, space fractured before the King in a massive array of crimson, a jagged thread flashing as it pulled out the King's greatest weapon and brought it before him: a golden-guarded sword with a purple, drill-shaped blade in three segments engraved with crimson cuneiform script in a fashion that hurt to look upon.

"_Watch closely child…_" the woman in black's voice told Sakura as she watched the battle. "_…our King's sword possesses the ability to crush reality itself. With it, he shall impose the Truth of Creation on his enemy. Forget the battle…forget your hostage…forget revenge…and in the moment the King shows his strength and passes judgment…in that instant gaze into Ea's eye and claim the Truth for yourself!_"

"Awaken Ea…!" Gilgamesh raised his sword high over his head, the blade's segments beginning to spin and crushing reality around it. "End the rebellious dream of the King of Conquerors and all those that follow him with your song! Sing the Song of Creation: Enuma Elish!"

With an air of finality, the King of Heroes swung down and in the direction of the fast-approaching Ionian Hetairoi, an invisible wave of force blasting the sand in front of it away and leaving the ground cracked and collapsing behind it. "Hold on…!" Rider said to his Master, pulling Bucephalus' reins and jumping over the wave…and giving the boy a glimpse of the blue sky shattering like glass and revealing the inky and star-spotted black sky of reality behind it.

"What is this?" Waver asked with a shaking voice. "A reality marble…an entire world…there is no way that an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm could be this powerful…" The boy turned his terrified gaze behind him and beheld the Army of the King dying in their countless numbers, vanishing into blue hazes of prana as the world which sustained them collapsed and fell into the abyss which surrounded the reality marble before Gaea re-imposed its reality on their surroundings. And then he turned his gaze to the smugly-smirking King of Heroes, seeing reality itself snapping back in place around his sword as its segments ceased their rotary movements. "…that…that is an Anti-World Noble Phantasm…"

Bucephalus staggered to a halt, Rider staring down the deserted avenue at a waiting Gilgamesh. "Waver…Waver Velvet…" Rider said to him. "…you rode with me as a friend…but it seems there's no turning back, and here's the end of the road. So let me ask you: will you accept my dream? Will you be my subject?"

Waver looked up at Rider and quickly blinked away his tears. "Yes…" he replied in a whisper. "..I will accept your dream. I will be your subject, and your friend, now and forever more."

Rider nodded, before picking Waver up and setting him down on the ground beside Bucephalus. "Then hear my last command: live and let us meet again, beyond this world! Until that time, witness the changing of the world, and live the King's dream! Farewell…"

Rider now turned to Gilgamesh, smiled and said "Here I come, King of Heroes!" Roaring his battle cry, the King of Conquerors charged the King of Heroes who smiled and opened fire with the Gate of Babylon, precisely-aimed shots taking the place of the usual mass bombardment. Rider swung his sword expertly, deflected blades flying to the sides without even slowing his charge down…until a silvered spear impaled Bucephalus and the black charger collapsed to the ground. Undeterred, the King rolled to his feet and barely avoided several blades that would have skewered him otherwise, continuing his charge against the golden king. The Gate of Babylon continued to rain down steel, a trio of blades punching through Rider's left arm and torso…to no avail, Rider roaring as he raised his sword to strike down Gilgamesh where he stood.

Gilgamesh sighed mournfully, then stabbed forwards with Ea, the drill-like sword punching through Rider's chest as he stood immobilized by Enkidu, his sword mere inches from the King's face. "Are you satisfied, King of Conquerors?" he asked.

"…asking me…like that…when you've bound like this…" Rider answered, blood filling his mouth and his vision growing blurry. "…but I suppose…fun while it lasted…this wasn't a complete loss…"

"This entire world is my garden." Gilgamesh said solemnly. "It always has been, and always will be. Challenge me whenever you like, King of Conquerors. I will be honoured to accept it."

Rider smiled, his body beginning to fade away into light. "_…this sound…I see…Oceanus…my friends…well done…_"

Gilgamesh lowered Ea, bowing silently in respect to his fallen enemy for a moment before moving to confront Waver Velvet. The boy was shaking with a mix of fear and grief, but he stood his ground, fighting the instinct to run or to cower and beg for mercy. "Are you Rider's Master?"

"I-I was his Master." Waver stammered out. "But now…now I am his subject."

"Are you now…? If so, is it not your duty to avenge your fallen King?"

"I will die."

"Of course you will."

"Then I cannot. For you see, I was ordered to live."

Gilgamesh was silent for several moments, and then he returned Ea to the Gate of Babylon. Then he patted Waver on the head, saying "Go boy. Go and fulfil your King's last command." Having paid his respects, the King of Heroes turned back the way he had come, and leaving Waver behind to mourn his fallen King.

Gilgamesh eyed Tokiomi as he approached, narrowing at the barely-concealed expression of displeasure on the man's face. "I have spared the boy's life, Tokiomi. And I will not forgive any forestalment of the King's mercy." Tokiomi bowed…and with a swirl of collapsing space Medea appeared and knelt to the side.

"Why have you come here Caster?" Gilgamesh asked, curious but not in any mood to play around. "Speak swiftly, for I wish to retire for this evening."

"_I will have you retire soon, your Majesty…permanently._" Medea thought to herself as she pulled back her hood. "My King, I beg leave to report to you before I am destroyed. I have uncovered a deception and a conspiracy behind this whole war."

"What…?" Gilgamesh snarled, whirling to face the sorceress and noticing a brief flicker of apprehension flash across Tokiomi's face. "_What have you been plotting Tokiomi?_"

"We have all of us been deceived!" Medea hissed, a carefully-measured amount of indignation mixed with rage poured into her voice. "The Holy Grail can certainly grant wishes with the sacrifice of six or even five Servants should the wishes be within the limits of the World. But what happens if all seven Servants should be fed into the Grail?"

"Your Majesty if I may…" Tokiomi attempted to intervene, but a gleaming blade plunging halfway into the ground just inches from him silenced him.

"Be silent, mongrel pretender. I have far more reasons to trust the Witch of Betrayal over you." Gilgamesh said with a cold and deadly tone, and Tokiomi began to sweat as he realized that things had gone terribly wrong. "Continue Princess, and reveal the deception behind this war."

"My King, I have discovered that both the Holy Grail and the founding families have deceived us all. They and they alone knew of the true purpose behind the Grail, masked by its ability to grant wishes, and that it to use the death of all seven Servants to generate enough power to collapse the walls of the World and to access the Root itself!"

Gilgamesh didn't say anything, merely turning to glare at Tokiomi, who could only open and close his mouth unable to speak. "So…you have deceived me." Gilgamesh hissed, golden portals opening around him. "And you have conspired to murder me, the King. Such crimes…a thousand deaths will not suffice!"

With a scream of inarticulate rage, Tokiomi used his two remaining command spells. "By the power of the command spells…"

"Die…!" Gilgamesh roared, gleaming blades lancing towards Tokiomi.

"…kill yourself…!" Tokiomi ordered, and most of the blades skewered their own user…but three plunged all the way to the hilt in Tokiomi's body, the magus staggering back before collapsing first to his knees and then falling backwards to the ground.

"Mongrel…" Gilgamesh spat, his body fading away as he did so. The swords which had impaled Tokiomi vanished with him, leaving horrendous wounds that bled heavily onto the ground. If not for his crest, Tokiomi should have died then and there, but there was still sufficient prana cycling in his crest to keep him alive until he could get help.

"Kirei…" the man whispered, dragging himself forward. "…help me…"

Kirei moved to help…only to stop as a flicker of movement registered in his peripheral vision. Within moments, it had resolved itself into Sakura floating down from the sky, along with a transparent bubble containing a horrified Aoi Tohsaka. "Well aren't you the sight, weakling?" the girl taunted her father, casually strolling towards him and kneeling down.

"Sakura…what are you…?" the man coughed out as his daughter grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head up to face her.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sakura said sweetly. "I'm here to kill you of course. But I'm not going to do it easily. After all, you were completely fine having me getting fed to a Dead Apostle, and be defiled by those disgusting worm familiars of his. One bad turn deserves another, don't you know that father?"

"I…did what I thought was best…magus is…hard one…" Tokiomi gasped, choking on his own blood and causing Sakura to snort derisively.

"Oh yes, that makes me feel so much better." She sneered, drawing her silver dagger much to Tokiomi and Aoi's mounting horror. Kirei moved to stop her, suppressing a disgusting desire within him to watch and see Sakura torturously kill her father, but was frozen to the ground by a spell. Aoi was likewise frozen, unable to close her eyes or even turn away by a single spell courtesy of a cruelly-smiling Medea. "But the thing is father…I don't want to be defiled by those things. I suppose you don't want to die either, don't you? But the thing is…you're in no position to stop me now, just as I was in no position to stop you from throwing me away like a piece of garbage last year."

"Say goodbye father…" she said, placing her dagger along his throat. "…you won't be able to talk after this. But you won't die. Not yet…until your crest runs out of prana you won't die, at least until I see fit to finally separate your head from your body."

With a demonic smile, Sakura slit her father's throat, the man gurgling as he drowned in his own blood but unable to truly die thanks to his crest. Aoi screamed in her prison, hammering at the bubble's walls until her fists were red and bloody, but unable to escape or avoid the sight. Sakura hummed tunelessly to herself, slicing into her father's arteries and veins and giggling as sprays of warm blood dyed her hands and clothes crimson. After those were the man's muscles and tendons, and Sakura grimaced at their toughness: Tokiomi was a certified martial artist and his musculature was tough and well-developed as a result.

"Such a hassle even in death…" she complained, unwilling to defile the sacred purity of her sacrificial knife by reinforcing it, opting to continue to trudge through with physically severing her father's head. Finally, she sighed as all that was left holding her father's head – the man's eyes glazed over with unthinkable agony but conscious for all that – to his body was his spinal column.

"Any last words, father?" Sakura asked, tilting her blood-splattered face. There was no reply of course, and Sakura just giggled as a result. "If you don't have anything to say then let me finish this once and for all; Nemesis great goddess of vengeance, guide my blade, and bring down divine retribution on this unworthy soul." She finished with a prayer, before slicing through her father's spinal nerves with her dagger while simultaneously pulling his spinal bones apart.

Silence fell across the bloody grounds, broken only by Aoi's hysterical sobs as Medea released her from her prison. Sakura stood, cleaning her knife on her dress before putting it back in its scabbard and holding up her father's head and looking into its lifeless eyes. Sighing, the girl closed her eyes and turned inwards, silently asking herself "_Was it worth it?_"

* * *

A/N

Nothing is crueller than children. Sakura at times has the mentality of an older person, but fundamentally she is still a child. As such she has absolutely no qualms with brutally murdering her own father, and torturing her birth-mother with the sight.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 20

"_Was it worth it?" the silent question echoed across the inner world, which lay in ruins. In place of the verdant green hills and the sparkling stream under a clear blue sky with ice-capped mountains looming over the horizon, a ruined city stretched out as far as the eye could see. Deserted buildings with broken windows gaped like grinning skulls over the street, dotted with gutted and rusting vehicles. Corpses hung from lightless lampposts, the lifeless cadavers limply swinging to and fro. More corpses littered the streets, killed in just about every way imaginable._

_There were bludgeoned corpses, their skulls bashed in and their brains spilled out in a mess of blood, cerebral fluid, and nervous matter. There were disembowelled corpses, lying in pools of blood with their intestines and other organs spilled out below and around them. Others had been dismembered, lying in pieces on the ground, while others had burned to death, leaving burned-out husks behind or nothing more than a Human-shaped silhouette burned onto the ground or a nearby wall._

_Smoke rose in twisting columns in the distance, rising mournfully to a blood-red sky streaked with ominously purpled clouds. Nothing lived in the ruins…except for carrion beasts. Dogs lapped up spilled blood and chewed on Human bones, or fought each other over corpses. Ravens and crows picked away on the corpses, plucking out eyes and maggots feasting on the profusion of dead flesh._

_Nothing lived in the ruins…but a single girl in a blood-stained dress stood in the middle of the ruins, breathing heavily and clutching a gleaming silver knife in one hand, her eyes wild and tearing. "Was it worth it?" she asked again. The woman in black didn't answer, standing with her eyes closed several steps in front of her._

"_Answer me…!" Sakura screamed, and the woman in black opened her eyes, her face stern and harsh…the face of a fully-realized magus, a person that was simultaneously less, more, and undeniably Human._

"_You and I both know the answer to that question isn't nearly as simple as we want it to be." She replied, and Sakura looked away angrily._

"_I've become a monster." The girl spat, and the woman in black quirked an eyebrow in response._

"_Are you really…?"_

"_No…" Sakura said darkly. "…I'm a monster now, but in the next moment I can just as easily be the hero, or just another little girl. I am who I choose to be."_

"_Then who are you really?"_

"_I am Sakura the daughter of Medea." Sakura replied, and then looked at the woman in black knowingly. "We both are."_

_The woman in black smiled, and then began to laugh softly. After a moment Sakura began to laugh as well, the soft laughter quickly becoming full-blown demonic laughter echoing across the ruins. When the laughter stopped and Sakura reopened her eyes, she was no longer staring at the woman in black…she was the woman in black, looking down on a demonically-smiling little girl in a blood-stained dress. There were differences of course; she wasn't wearing her hair in a ponytail like the woman in black did, and she wore looser, Celtic-style robes and cloak without any form of runic engravings, and she didn't carry a spear either. She did however feel the weight of her sacrificial knife hidden up her sleeve. It was a reassuring weight. "How…?" she asked._

"_Don't you already know?" her childish doppelganger asked with a sing-song voice._

"_We're not really the same person are we? My adult appearance is different, and I don't have your memories or whatever else you know."_

"_Of course not…" the other Sakura scoffed, shifting back into her adult form as she walked over to and sat down on the gutted remains of a car. "…our choices in life would most likely be very different. The future is by definition something that hasn't happened yet; as a Heroic Spirit the time axis is meaningless to me, but you are still a Human. Your adult appearance right now only reflects your current experiences."_

"_So I can become a Heroic Spirit myself?"_

"_You can…and you cannot. We are our choices after all."_

"_What did you do that the Root saw fit to preserve your existence beyond the constraints of time?"_

"_I ended the world." The other Sakura replied bluntly. "I burned modern civilization down and started a Second Age of Gods."_

"_I see…" Sakura replied with a nod. "…but that can't be the only future we can choose to make is it?"_

"_No, I suppose not."_

"_But that still doesn't answer the question: how?"_

"_Haven't you figured it out already? Oh very well, I'll explain it for you. You summoned a Heroic Spirit, and then you became that Heroic Spirit's blood-daughter, and finally you possess the potential to be a Heroic Spirit yourself within you. Your place in the time axis is skewed as a result, which in turn allows us to meet like this."_

"_I see…" Sakura said, nodding as she did so. "…I can become like you, but I don't necessarily have to become you."_

"_No, you don't." the other Sakura confirmed. "I'll say it again: we are our choices."_

"_I gazed into Ea's eye like you told me to." Sakura said after a moment's pause, the ground beginning to shake beneath them. Cawing in alarm the carrion birds flew up into the air with a whirl of black feathers, the wild dogs madly barking and running around in terror as the ruins around them crumbled. The ground soon followed, crumbling away into the abyss along with the madly swirling sky…until the two different incarnations of the same person floated above a hellish landscape of molten rock and searing gas, amidst a dark void centred on a piercingly-bright point of light: the Star of Creation._

"_And…? What did you see?"_

"_I saw our King's vision."_

"_Ah, I see…" the other Sakura said sadly. "…I was a coward in my turn and never looked into Ea's eye. My vision was flawed and in the end all that I ever did was to postpone the destruction of the Human race…the Ultimate Ones descending on a dead world…I couldn't change anything at all."_

"_Do you regret it?"_

"_I am content. What about you though? Where are you going?"_

_Sakura smiled wistfully, reverting back into her normal appearance. "That's the third question…?" she said, looking around her and once more witnessing the truth behind the world._

"_I'm going to live the King's law." She finally answered while looking back at her doppelganger. "I'll simply be myself, and live the way I want to live. That's how the King lived, didn't he? Since I'm a member of his court, I might as well follow his example as best as I can."_

"_If so, then I shall believe in you as well." The other Sakura acknowledged with a nod, before her countenance grew stern. "But let me give you three pieces of advice: first, be wary of the one called Shiro Emiya. Depending on his course in life he could either be a great ally or a deadly enemy. No matter what, be wary, especially should he choose to walk the path of his predecessor!"_

"_Go on…"_

"_Second, do you have the crown our King gave you?"_

_Sakura's response was to summon it around her head and the older her chuckled. "I see; you probably don't know it yet, but that actually grants you limited access to the Gate of Babylon. Don't think you can just do with it as you please though. For one thing you can only bring out one thing at a time, and the gold reserves as well as our King's greatest treasures – Ea and Enkidu – are not accessible to us."_

"_Even so, the others items in the vault might be useful." Sakura pointed out, and the other woman nodded in agreement._

"_That they are; one final thing, you might find it wise to befriend the White Princess."_

_Sakura tilted her head, her 'normal' personality beginning to reassert itself. "The White Princess…? Who's that?"_

"_You'll find out soon enough I'm sure." The other Sakura said with a smile, beginning to walk away. "She was a bit of a hassle to tell the truth, but well…anyway, just try to befriend her. Take care of yourself Sakura; it's a long journey ahead, and your mother is waiting for you."_

"Sakura…" Medea asked, looking concernedly at Sakura as she blinked her eyes open. "…are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm alright now." She said, once again regarding her father's severed head in one hand. Medea sighed and pulled off Sakura's cloak (much to the girl's surprise) and folded it into a makeshift basket.

"Put it in here, my dear." She said, and Sakura complied before noticing the carefully-measured expression on Kirei's face and Aoi curled up on the ground, muttering incoherently to herself.

"Well Father Kotomine, have you found your answer?" she asked…and she received her answer mere moments later with the priest barking out harsh peals of laughter, his joy and amusement at tonight's blood and carnage obvious.

"What do you need me to do?" he finally asked several long moments later, his eyes gleaming with life in a way they'd never done for a long time, and both Medea and Sakura smirked.

"For now take that weakling woman and her rotting corpse of a husband out of here." Medea told him. "I'm certain you'll be able to make a story up to cover our new…partnership."

"Don't forget to recover father's crest and hand it over to my half-sister." Sakura added. "It's hers now after all; I may be a witch and everything else mother is, but I'm no thief. Let Rin have the crest and all the trouble that comes with it."

"Please…" Kirei said with the bow of a servant. "…just leave it all to me. I'll take care of it." Nodding, Medea held out an arm and Sakura latched onto her while holding onto the bloody makeshift basket carrying her father's head, and with a swirl of collapsing space the demonic pair had vanished. Smirking to himself, Kirei pulled off his cloak and draped it over the deranged Aoi before going off to find transportation back to the church for himself, Aoi, and her late husband. He wasn't being altruistic either; he was simply being pragmatic.

After all, making sure she stayed alive would only mean further chances for him to derive amusement from her and her family's predicaments.

* * *

"So what do you intend to do with that man's head?" Medea asked her daughter once they'd returned to their territory.

Sakura shrugged and held up the bloody mess. "I don't know to be honest." She replied. "But I'm sure it'll come in handy one day. The problem is keeping it without it beginning to rot…"

"Allow me…" Medea said, taking the bundle and showing a curious Sakura a spell matrix step-by-step to create a spatial bubble to store Tokiomi's head in. "…it'll take a while before you can pull something like this off, but I suppose I can explain the general concept to you easily enough. This bubble is similar to that prison I had you use earlier on Mrs Tohsaka, except of a physically-tangible, paper-thin but steel-strong prana barrier, this bubble actually folds space into a pocket reality completely cut off from normal reality."

"It's just like our teleportation spell then." Sakura observed and Medea nodded approvingly.

"Quite right Sakura; just like our teleportation spell, it's an imitation – although personally I'd say it's a completely different form of magic given the differing nature of modern and ancient magic – of the Fifth Magic of modern magic in the sense that it manipulates space-time itself. For teleportation, a tunnel of space is 'collapsed' from one point to another for near-instantaneous travel. Stasis however folds space into a bubble around a given object."

"Then that means…!"

"Yes…" Medea confirmed. "…until you find out what you can use your father's head for, it won't rot so long as you don't take it out of storage. Now then, it's getting late…no it is late. It's about time you went to bed, seeing as you have to go to school tomorrow."

"But mom…!"

"No buts Sakura…"

"Mom…" she continued, holding out her arms to emphasize her ragged appearance. "…I'm covered in blood."

Silence descended as Medea realized that she'd forgotten about that little detail. A moment and a cough later, she said "I'd forgotten about that…alright, you should take a bath first but then bed. Alright…?"

"Why don't we take a bath together?" Sakura suggested, tilting her head to the side. "We've never done that before."

"Why not…?" Medea agreed with a soft smile. "It's not a bad idea I suppose." Sakura just smiled back, and Medea patted her on the head before taking her hand and leading the way out of the territory.

* * *

Day dawned bright and sunny over Fuyuki City the following morning, completely at odds with the tense atmosphere hanging over the city. Terrorist bombings along the docks, the destruction of the Fuyuki Bridge, landslides in the nearby mountains, serial killers and vigilantes supposedly on the loose…the citizens were spooked, reflected in the increased police presence across the city and in the more-serious tone adopted by newscasters in the morning news.

At the same time, Kirei and his father were quietly discussing confidential matters in an out-of-the-way corner of the psychiatric ward of Fuyuki General Hospital. Risei had immediately rushed to Tohsaka Manor once Kirei had brought news of the previous night's events and had found Rin unconscious but generally-unharmed (apart from a mild concussion) in the ruined foyer. Dealing with the police had been something of a hassle, but judicious use of mental interference by Kirei and mild (something of an understatement really) bending of the truth had allowed the church to keep the true nature of the Tohsakas' demise secret and draw away unwanted attention from the mundane authorities.

"Waver Velvet has taken refuge in Kotomine Church…?" Kirei echoed and Risei nodded.

"Until the end of the war, yes he is under our sanctuary. It's only natural, and with only Berserker, Sabre, and Caster left I don't really expect this war to last for much longer."

"Indeed…" Kirei agreed; he'd told his father an edited version of the events of the previous night, and painting Gilgamesh's demise as the result of Tokiomi being blackmailed by means of Aoi as a hostage into using all his command spells to force the King of Heroes into committing suicide, only to be betrayed and killed by Caster.

Risei wasn't completely fooled of course. He suspected that Kirei was holding something back, but considering his evasive manner of speaking as well as the rather grisly ending of an entire generation of the Tohsaka Clan, Risei concluded that Kirei was merely trying to avoid remembering too much of the details of the previous night. Factor in his psychological issues, and it made sense…and ironically enough ended up playing right into Caster and Kirei's deception.

"...really now…" Risei unhappily said with a sigh. "…I never expected Archer and Tokiomi to end like this. Aoi's fate is so sad too, and while there's a certain justification for young Sakura's hatred, Caster's influence isn't too different from pouring oil on fire. Worse yet, all our scenarios are in ruin…this is the worst possible situation."

"All we can do now is pray and hope that whoever wins this war doesn't wish for anything world shaking." Kirei told his father who nodded in agreement. "Otherwise, things might get a bit stirred-up."

"…which would be the last thing any of us want…" Risei added, his voice trailing off. Father and son stood silently together in contemplation. Risei was going through a variety of potential contingencies while Kirei was wondering what else Caster was planning and how much amusement it would end up giving him. "…where's Rin?" Risei finally asked.

* * *

Rin Tohsaka walked down the hallways heading for her mother's room, her mind still in shock over recent events. Her sister had changed greatly in the past year, although from what she'd managed to learn by eavesdropping on her father's conversations it was clear that whatever or whoever was changing her was doing so in a bad way. Before their…violent reunion last night Rin simply couldn't see her sister as a bad person…until she had blown up the front of their house and walking over the rubble with that devilish smile on her face. And it was only thanks to her voice and eyes that Rin had been able to recognize her sister. Everything else about her – her physical features, the way she dressed, her manner of speaking and even her magic (as far as Rin was aware Sakura should not be able to use elemental magecraft yet just the previous night it was painfully clear that Sakura could and did in fact use elemental magecraft) – had changed. Rin in particular had not expected to be sent flying and then get knocked out by a brief but shocking barrage of lightning, courtesy of her own sister no less.

The little girl finally stopped walking as she found a door marked with her family name. Brightening up at the thought of her mother explaining things to her, the seven year-old girl pushed the door open…and found her mother hunched over in bed, her eyes glazed over and speaking softly at something in her lap. Rin suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, and timidly walked over. "Mother…?" she asked.

Aoi didn't respond, instead continuing to stare at a pair of dolls she was holding in her hands…dolls which Rin realized in horror had similar appearances to her and to Sakura back when they were still family. "Mother, why are you…? Mother…? Mom…!"

Aoi refused to respond, and even when Rin grabbed onto and pulled an arm, all she did was to look blankly at her for a moment before returning her attention to her dolls. "Take care of your sister Rin…" the deranged woman said softly to one of the dolls. "…that's your obligation as an older sister. And you Sakura listen to your sister…"

"Mom, stop this…!" Rin screamed tearfully as Risei appeared at the door looking for her, only to adopt an expression of horror as he realized just how far Aoi's mind had gone. "I'm here! I'm not a doll! Mom…!"

And behind them all, Kirei just smiled in satisfaction.

* * *

"You're looking better than usual, Sakura-chan." Yui observed as they walked up the stairs to their classroom.

"I've managed to get a few issues cleared up…" Sakura said smugly, more than a trifle pleased with herself. Her revenge was complete, her mother truly loved her (if not would she have continued to support her throughout the culmination of her revenge), she had a King to look up to, and she would continue to grow in power…how could she not be blooming, to say it figuratively? "…and just call me Sakura."

"Is that really alright?"

"Well, we're friends aren't we?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side. "Do we really have to be so formal all the time?"

"I guess not." Yui said, mildly embarrassed even as Kyoko nodded her agreement.

"Yes we're friends, so I suppose we don't really need to be formal unless we need to be."

"Great…by the way I know this café which sells amazing desserts." Sakura gushed, letting her 'normal' six year-old personality take precedence over her more mature magus personality. Maybe one day she'd tell Yui and Kyoko what she really was. She hoped that they would understand, and better yet she hoped they had magic circuits of their own. Then they could be magi together, and be friends in both the mundane and magical worlds together. That would just be perfect. "_Life is great…_" she thought smugly to herself as she indulged in childish chatter with her friends.

* * *

A/N

And there we go…

We're almost at the final battle, with only Berserker and Sabre left apart from Medea (who is practically guaranteed to fight in the last battle over the Holy Grail).

And kudos to anyone who spots the Evangelion reference in this chapter.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 21

"This war will come to an end soon" Medea proclaimed with a triumphant smile, standing before a pair of translucent projections: Kariya and Kirei. "All that is left now is to eliminate Sabre and the Grail will be ours. Kariya, that task falls to you and to your Servant."

Kariya nodded, before looking sideways at Kirei. Medea continued, now addressing the renegade priest. "Kotomine your assigned task is to take the vessel of the Holy Grail into custody. While Sabre and her Master are busy with Kariya and his Servant, infiltrate Castle von Einzbern and claim the vessel."

"Just leave it me." The priest said with a bow, and then his projection vanished.

"Is it wise, trusting him like this?" Kariya asked concernedly, his projection spluttering for a few moments before fading away and exposing the real Kariya, the illusion of a projection merely for Kirei's benefit. "He was Tohsaka's lackey before now, and from what I can see he's only helping us because it amuses him. Personally I don't trust him one bit."

"He's useful…for now." Medea replied dismissively, pulling back her hood and exposing her face. "Assuming he survives the final battle – which I doubt – I'll personally dispose of him."

"I see…"

"Is something wrong?" Medea asked, noting the troubled expression on the man's face who sighed before answering.

"It's about last night…" Kariya began hesitantly. "…I've no problem with Tokiomi's death, but Aoi's fate…wasn't that a bit much? I mean, she probably did deserve to die for neglecting her responsibilities, but insanity…?"

"It was Sakura's plan." Medea said, and Kariya momentarily sent her a measuring glance, wondering if she was trying to shift the blame to Sakura. The next moment he relented, realizing from her tone of voice and facial expression that the sorceress was actually faintly regretful at Sakura's descent into darkness. "I couldn't have stopped her. I…I cared too much for her happiness and trust in me to stop her from doing what she did…killing her father and driving her birth-mother into insanity. She might have used a command spell, and the bond between us would have been damaged. Despite appearances that bond wasn't completely solid until now…and while you might condemn me for placing that bond over what is right and wrong, I do not regret it."

"She's happy…" Kariya softly said with a nod. "…and now she truly has someone else to care for her."

"Can we blame her for what she did?" Medea essayed.

"No, we cannot." Kariya said firmly. "A six year-old could not possibly have a proper understanding of right and wrong. And her hatred of her family…"

Medea nodded in apparent agreement, but inwardly she disagreed. Sakura did have an understanding of right and wrong appropriate for her age, but from their shared perception as Master and Servant it seemed that the influence of the King of Heroes had twisted her understanding of the matter. Apparently, Sakura no longer recognized the 'normal' concept of morality, and the Truth she had perceived by looking into Ea's eye had altered her concept of morality to something…older, older than Humanity, so much so that even Divine Words had no ways of expressing it. If anything, Sakura's moral compass now seemed to reflect that of the King of Heroes or even a True Ancestor's. Medea had met a few True Ancestors in her time, and while Sakura was no vampire, it was rather unsettling to see the same…amorality (?) from the ruby eyes of a True Ancestor in her sapphire ones.

Medea both relished and shuddered at the implications. Such amorality practically guaranteed her success as a magus…and ran the risk of her becoming a monster on par with a Demon Lord. She'd have to make sure Sakura would grow up as the former and not as the latter.

"Do you blame me for twisting her so?" she asked, but Kariya shook his head in response.

"No, I don't blame you." he said. "Sakura is happy, and you clearly do care for her. While I might disagree with some things of the things you do, I also know that you would never hurt anyone unless they hurt you first for no good reason. I also know that you'd raise Sakura that way, and while the result may seem deplorable at times, they will never be unjustified."

Medea bowed in thanks for his understanding, after which she and Kariya stood in silence for a long time, the situation becoming increasingly uncomfortable, especially as the former soon realized that Kariya was staring at her face. "I-is something wrong?" she asked again, feeling her cheeks heat up and startling Kariya back into the present.

"W-what…?" he spluttered, flushing slightly. "Oh, it's nothing. I just…anyway I should get going…"

Medea just laughed softly as the man sheepishly scratched his head. "Don't die. Sakura's quite fond of you, and I could use your help for after this war."

"Don't worry. I won't die…" he said to her. "…well then…"

With a wave, Kariya turned to leave the territory, and Medea waved back. She stared after him until he'd exited the territory, and with a sigh she decided to go and take a bath, wondering why seemed so flustered just because she caught Kariya entranced by her. Sure, she was pretty, and Kariya wasn't bad looking if she were honest with herself…but still, he was rather average as a magus, and while he was principled…what the hell was wrong with her?

Silently arguing with herself, Medea stalked off to the bath.

* * *

"Only Caster and Berserker are left." Kiritsugu said, staring out into the evening sky from one of Castle von Einzbern's windows. Behind him Sabre sat on a chair, listening silently. "With Matou's location unknown, Caster is our logical target for tonight."

"Mt Ryuudo's fortifications are formidable." Sabre pointed out. "We learned that the hard way the last time we went there."

"Agreed…" Kiritsugu noted with a nod. "…but will it hold against Excalibur?"

"You want to use Excalibur to destroy Caster's stronghold from a distance?" Sabre echoed, and Kiritsugu turned to face her.

"Is there a problem with that?"

Normally there would have been a problem, but Sabre had stopped caring. She would win the Holy Grail, and she would use it not to redo the selection of the King, but rather to start over again. And this time, she would do it right. And never again would she be ridiculed by other, lesser, Kings. To do that she would have to do whatever needed to be done, no matter the cost, both in this war and in her new reign over Britain. "There's no problem with the matter per se, but wouldn't it be rather, well, visible? The Overseer could raise merry hell over it."

"Perhaps…" Kiritsugu conceded. "…but I strongly doubt it. If we defeat Caster, then only Berserker will be left, and his Master is also the Matou Master for this war. If we are disqualified even on a technicality, the politics of the situation could construe the Overseer's decision as symbolizing the favouring of one Master. The Association agreed to let the Church oversee the war due to its apparent neutrality…I doubt the Overseer will risk the loss of the Association's reluctantly-given concession over the Heaven's Feel rituals here over Excalibur's little light show."

"I see…" Sabre said with a nod. "…if that is the case, I have no problems using Excalibur against Caster's stronghold."

Kiritsugu nodded, only to be pre-empted from speaking by Maiya, who entered the room right at that moment. "Kiritsugu…" she said. "…Irisviel wants to see you."

Kiritsugu shared a worried glance with Sabre, and then made his way to Irisviel's chambers. Maiya and Sabre remained outside and well out of earshot to give the husband and wife some privacy. Irisviel for her part lay unmoving on the ground in the middle of a magic circle engraved onto the stone floor, rendered immobile by the power of four Heroic Spirits stored in her body. Only the magic circle and Avalon within her kept her conscious and capable of speech, and she glanced at Kiritsugu with her eyes as he approached. "Darling…" she said softly. "…what's happening outside?"

"Only Sabre, Caster, and Berserker are left." Kiritsugu told her. "By tomorrow morning only two will be left, which will mean that tomorrow night will be the end of this war…and of us."

"I see…" Irisviel said sadly, and Kiritsugu clenched his fists.

"If only…if only there was another way…" he ground out and Irisviel smiled sadly at him while briefly (and vainly) trying to shake her head.

"There's no other way. A price must always be paid for a miracle." She told him. "And I have no regrets. For the sake of your dream, and for Illya's sake, I am more than willing to sacrifice myself. So please, don't be sad."

"Iri…"

"Kiritsugu…I won't need Avalon soon. Take it, and live. Live and take care of our Illya for me. Make sure she grows up to be happy."

Kiritsugu looked torn, but after a moment he nodded and knelt down beside his wife. "I will…" he whispered, embracing her tightly.

"Goodbye my love…" Irisviel said, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Goodbye…" he returned, removing Avalon from her and placing it within his own body. Gently laying his wife back down to the ground, he sadly looked at her again. She would never speak again, and once the fifth Servant had fallen, she would fall into eternal sleep. And with the sixth Servant her beauty would fade from this world. Taking reassurance from her crimson eyes, Kiritsugu turned to leave…only to be forced to lean against the wall as Castle von Einzbern shook violently. "…what the hell?"

He ran outside of Irisviel's chambers and was immediately intercepted by both Sabre and Maiya. "What's happening…?" he began to ask only for the castle to violently shake once more, along with the sound of collapsing walls and breaking windows.

"That felt like an artillery strike!" Maiya shouted with surety, and ran off at a brisk trot followed by Sabre and Kiritsugu. The intrepid trio traversed the castle and made their way to a pair of vast windows from which they could see a considerable section of the castle reduced to a pile of rubble. "Look…!" Maiya shouted, pointing at something in the sky which grew larger and larger with every passing moment, and the sight of which had Kiritsugu's jaw dropping in disbelief.

It was a boulder, or it should be a boulder…if boulders were black and shot through with crimson veins. It came closer and closer, and forcing the trio to jump to one side to avoid getting crushed by it as it crushed its way through the windows and into the castle. "A rock…" Kiritsugu said, shaking his head in disbelief. "…talk about subtle."

"Damn Berserker…!" Sabre cursed. "Is this supposed to be some kind of challenge?"

"It sure looks like it." Kiritsugu deadpanned. "And we've no choice but to respond. Maiya, guard Irisviel! Let's go Sabre!"

* * *

Kariya opened his eyes, standing a good distance from the edge of the Einzbern Forest alongside Berserker, having viewed Emiya and Sabre leaving Castle von Einzbern and heading out to intercept through a familiar. "By the power of the command spell…" he said softly, holding up a hand as one of his two remaining command spells briefly glowed before vanishing. "…awaken Arondight."

Berserker growled in his throat, and Kariya sighed…and then his limbs exploded, worms mutating into their flight-capable forms, the swarm buzzing off into the forest even as their master regenerated behind them. "_I'll be glad never to do this again in the future._" Kariya said to himself, before turning to Berserker. "Go Berserker. Find Sabre, and fight to your heart's content."

Berserker's response was a blood-curdling roar of insane rage before he ran off into the forest, the sounds of trees before him being shouldered aside or crushed underfoot marking his presence. Kariya stared after him, knowing that despite how it sounded Berserker's roars were always one word distorted by his insanity and rage: Arthur. "Go Lancelot." The man whispered. "Go and meet your King."

Walking away in the opposite direction, Kariya slid down a hillside and pulled a concealing tarp off of a motorbike, which he mounted and started. Within moments the spell-caster was thundering away on his motorbike, having left his familiars to fight Emiya on auto while Berserker dealt with Sabre at his leisure. As he headed back to Mt Ryuudo, he perceived Lancelot finally confronting the King of Knights. "_Mad Enhancement…_" he thought. "_…off…_"

* * *

Lancelot jumped back, avoiding Excalibur by a hair's breadth as it swung down in front of him. "It's been a long time…" he observed, his voice muffled by the helmet but recognizable still for all that. Sabre's eyes widened at the sound of it. "…hasn't it, your Majesty?"

"Lancelot…" Sabre whispered in shocked recognition.

The black knight pulled off his helmet, exposing his weary face to his King, who steadied herself with a visible effort even as Lancelot looked up at the cloudy sky. "Back then…" he whispered. "…we stood together side by side, didn't we?"

"Lancelot…" Sabre repeated.

"Why did you let us go?" Lancelot snarled. "Did you really believe that we could be happy together, after everything we'd done? If you had condemned us, we would have been content. It was what we deserved after all, and we and everyone else knew it. But instead you let us go. You condemned us to a fate worse than death itself! We…we couldn't forgive ourselves…we just couldn't."

"I know…" Sabre said, taking a deep breath and causing the crimson runes on her sword and armour to briefly flicker in response to her will, and causing Lancelot's eyes to widen at the sight of the changes in her and her sword's appearance. "…that is why I will change everything. I will use the Grail's power to start over from the very beginning. No more lies…no more deceptions…you and Guinevere could even be together from the very beginning…"

"Your Majesty…" Lancelot began but unable to keep the horror out of his voice. "…what have you done?"

"I changed myself Lancelot…" she replied harshly. "…I realize now that my rule was flawed. I allowed myself to be blinded by my goal and in so doing lost sight of what needed to be done. I allowed myself to become a blind dreamer under the influence of that twisted sorcerer Merlin, and in so doing killed my own dream. I can and I will change that!"

"Your Majesty, have you gone mad?"

"Mad…? You would question your King's sanity Lancelot…? No matter, I will suffer it this time. Tonight you will die, and we will meet again in Camelot. And that time, we will do it right."

"No…!" Lancelot said while drawing Arondight. "Your Majesty you must not change history! You would shame all of us if you do so!"

"Then would you prefer to continue to live in shame like this Lancelot?"

"I would sooner die than see you throw yourself into the same trap as other, lesser, Kings!"

"Enough talk!" Sabre roared, charging forward with Excalibur. Gritting his teeth, Lancelot charged to meet his King's charge, Arondight crossing blades with Excalibur, the blackened aura of the former clashing with the burning red runes of the latter. Unexpectedly, Lancelot found himself being pushed back, Sabre following through with a pair of swings that would have gutted Lancelot even through his armour and which he barely succeeded in dodging.

Sabre continued to press the offensive, lashing out with brutal and precise slashes from a low guard, with her opponent defending also from a low guard. "It's not yet too late your Majesty!" Lancelot shouted as he crossed blades with Sabre yet again, before successfully pushing her back and taking advantage of Arondight's statistic increase. "Can't you see what you're becoming?" he continued to implore to her, launching a counter-attack from a high guard which Sabre avoided and then launching a fresh attack of her own. "Your movements…even your colours…you're becoming just like her!"

Sabre's last swing was deflected to the side, and she sprang back with Excalibur held in the low guard. Lancelot mirrored her stance, locking eyes with his King, his anguished eyes meeting Sabre's own determined ones. Lightning flashed as rain began to fall…and the two knights ran forward to continue their battle. Switching to high guards, the two traded blows with each other, sparks flying as two former holy swords cut at each other, Arondight seeking to uphold the King who followed her ideals to the end, while Excalibur sought to affirm that same King's desire to change history itself.

A slash from Excalibur barely missed cutting across Lancelot's face, but Sabre had overreached herself, which Lancelot took advantage of with a stab at her heart. Sabre sprang back and avoided it before swinging down Excalibur at Lancelot's head, the knight blocking it with Arondight and pushing her back. A fresh swing of Arondight swept several strands of blonde hair from Sabre's fringe, and a retaliatory stab left a bleeding cut on Lancelot's cheek.

"Break his sword, Excalibur!" Sabre shouted, charging her knight and causing Excalibur's runes to flash brightly even as the blue of her dress turned to red.

"Stop it your Majesty!" Lancelot shouted in despair and meeting her charge with Arondight held high. The Sword of Promised Victory met the Unfading Light of the Lake…and with the sound of reality collapsing, the latter shattered as the superior concepts of the former crushed it utterly, the light of the lake having faded when Lancelot slew his brothers-in-arms as he sought to save Guinevere from her execution, whereas the promised victory had never once failed to deliver. And as promised, victory was delivered, Excalibur piercing Lancelot's heart and emerging dripping from his back.

"Forgive me…" Altria whispered as she pulled Excalibur out of Lancelot's chest and held the dying knight in her arms.

"There is…nothing to forgive…" Lancelot gasped out, reaching out with a gauntleted hand and cupping his King's cheek. "…you are…we never regretted…you…save…Britain…"

"Until we meet again, my dear friend." She whispered in response, and finally at peace with himself and with his King, Lancelot closed his eyes and died. As his body faded away into sparkling motes of light, his last thought was of Guinevere smiling benignly at him, her arms wide in welcome. "_Guinevere…_"

* * *

"_Berserker has failed…_" Medea telepathically told Kirei as the latter hammered away at Maiya. "_…no matter. Do not kill Emiya's mistress, priest. I will explain later, but spare her life nonetheless._"

Kirei's response was a slight shift in his stance, and instead of crushing her internal organs the former Executor's blows shattered the bones in her limbs, Maiya crying out in agony as she collapsed to the ground. Kirei then stabbed a Black Key into her shadow, immobilizing her. "_Why didn't you just let me kill her?_" he responded, making his way towards the chambers of the Grail vessel.

"_Well for starters it would cause more pain for Emiya in the long run._" Medea replied with her answering thoughts tinged with distraction. It made sense as she was currently focusing on remotely-viewing Emiya struggling to fend off a swarm of Kariya's insect familiars in the Einzbern Forest, the spell-caster unable to use his trump given that a familiar had apparently melted itself down to jam the weapon's mechanisms. An attempt to fire said weapon could easily result in a misfire.

"_Explain…_" Kirei pressed as he entered the room where Irisviel was lying in the middle of a magic circle, her eyes blank as her consciousness was swallowed up by the power filling her body.

"_From what I've observed, Emiya doesn't really feel much for her despite sleeping with her. Why the man's wife puts up with his infidelity is beyond me…why I…_" Kirei felt a welcome tinge of amusement from Medea's irked thoughts on how she would deal with unfaithful spouses, even giving a smile at '…flaying and then rolling in salt…', the priest scooping up the helpless homunculus as he did so.

"_I see your point._" Kirei interjected, his thoughts cutting through Medea's rants. "_The woman he cares little for survives the war, whereas the one he truly loves dies. The resulting angst and such will certainly prove amusing._"

"_It might even be worthy of a play._" Medea concurred. "_Now take the vessel to the location of the Grail's focus. The time has come: let us end this war and claim victory!_"

* * *

A/N

Sabre's not actually becoming Sabre Alter; her appearance as a Servant merely reflects her nature as a spiritual being whose alignment shifts from Lawful Good to Chaotic Good. Her real body back at Britain's past hasn't really changed, although if she wakes up with her alignment still shifted Excalibur's runes will also turn red then and there (naturally she'd have to change her clothes and armour the old-fashioned way).

Finally, don't start ranting about how unbreakable Arondight is supposed to be. Its concept is summarized as the 'Unfading Light of the Lake'…well, it seems to me that light is a bit, um, faded, what with Lancelot killing Gawain's brothers and several other knights at Guinevere's attempted execution. Whereas as far as I know, Excalibur has never once failed to deliver on its promise whenever it's called upon…

The next chapter, the final battle…part one…maybe…stay golden.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Chapter 22

"Are you going to go?" Sakura asked, looking unhappily at her mother from the entrance to the theatre stage in their territory.

"I have no choice." Medea replied. "To obtain the Holy Grail I must go to the focus and take part within the Heaven's Feel ritual."

"But…!"

Medea turned and smiled, walking towards her daughter and kneeling down before her. "Don't worry, I'll be back I promise. I'll take care of you, no matter what." Sakura still looked forlorn and Medea sighed before saying something she never thought she would ever say to a Master. But then again this whole war was already messed-up…what else was there to further ruin her perceptions? "If it makes you feel better, use two command spells to order me to come back to you, alright?"

"Mom…" Sakura whispered, and then grinding her teeth in frustration used two of her precious command spells. "…come back…even if the Holy Grail is destroyed…come back to me…"

"I promise." Medea promised, embracing her daughter tightly. A footstep behind them indicated Kariya's presence.

"I'm sorry but…"

"I know; Berserker has fallen." Medea said softly, letting go of Sakura and turning to face Kariya. "I must say I'm surprised that Sabre would so easily kill one of her own…perhaps we overreached our aim back during Rider's little drink…"

"Caster…Medea, I'm sorry." Kariya finally breathed. "You too Sakura; if Berserker had defeated Sabre, then the Holy Grail would be as good as ours with Berserker's enforced suicide. But now…"

"You're a good man Kariya Matou…no, Kariya Makiri." Medea praised him, raising a gloved hand to caress his cheek. "Few are those who would admit to their failures and apologize for it. But don't worry, I'll come back. I promised Sakura after all, and I have the power of two command spells behind me. Until then, watch over Sakura."

"I understand." Kariya said, taking Sakura's hand. "I'll expect you to deliver on that promise." Medea nodded in response and with a last smile at Sakura she teleported herself to face the last Servant to be sacrificed to awaken the Cup of Heaven.

* * *

Kirei Kotomine carefully carved out the magic circle for the Heaven's Feel onto a table in the Fuyuki Civic Centre, following the instructions within the diary of Nagato Tohsaka which he had pillaged from the Tohsaka Manor. The circle had to be perfect lest the ritual fail with disastrous results; even if it was only the Lesser Grail, the amount of prana contained within was still enough to burn most of the surrounding city down if something went wrong. As for the Greater Grail…Kirei paused and shuddered at the implied warning Caster had given to his father by her probes into the interior of Mt Ryuudo. Detonating the prana within the Greater Grail would probably reduce the entire landscape of Fuyuki City into a smoking crater, and disrupt the ley-lines across Japan.

"How are the preparations coming along?" Caster asked, quietly walking up to his side.

"It's as you can see." The priest replied. "I am now beginning the final preparations for the Fourth Heaven's Feel ritual. Once the magic circle is complete, all we need to do is to connect the vessel to the system and it will do the rest."

"Good…" Caster said with a nod. "…my familiars tell me that Sabre and her Master are closing in fast on this location. I will fight Sabre myself, and your opponent shall be the Magus Killer. Once we kill Sabre, then the Heaven's Feel will be complete, and our wishes shall be granted."

Kirei nodded and returned to his work. As far as he was concerned his current alliance with the Servant of the Spell was born out of necessity; Caster's Master had no wish to present before the Grail, which meant that in her place Kirei could demand an explanation for the way his mind and soul were twisted. As for what happens after the Heaven's Feel…well he would deal with that when the time came.

"I will go and intercept Sabre." Caster told him, already walking away. "Once the ritual has begun, the Magus Killer is all yours."

"Understood…" Kirei acknowledged. A few more lines…runic inscriptions…and the final preparations were finally complete. Nodding in satisfaction the priest turned and walked to where the homunculus limply lay against the wall, and carrying her in her arms deposited her in the middle of the magic circle. Kirei arranged her in a position of repose out of habit, and after checking the connection with the system turned and left with an expression of satisfaction on his face.

As Irisviel lay there, alone and lifeless within the circle in the deserted building, the power stored within her body began to flow, cycling and interacting with the rest of the system, bringing the Holy Grail to life. Flames erupted across her flesh, spreading over her clothes and reducing her to ash within minutes with the foul stench of burned meat…and then the ash began to melt like wax, flowing and twisting together in a re-enactment of the highest degree of Einzbern alchemy to form a golden cup with flowing and intricate inscriptions along its upper rim. The cup floated above the table…and began to bubble with crimson and red mud that began to splash down onto the table which burst into flames as the mud spilled onto it. The stone of the floor didn't burn though, instead turning black with crimson veins as an ancient power imprinted itself onto the World.

Angra Mainyu laughed.

* * *

Purple beams lanced down, Sabre dodging them even as they blew smoking craters on the ground. "Caster…!" she shouted in defiance, using Excalibur to deflect more beams coming at her as Medea descended dramatically before her to stand above the main entrance of the Fuyuki Civic Centre. "You finally deign to show your face, witch!"

"I really hate that word!" Medea shouted angrily before firing off a whirlwind against Sabre, uprooting trees, rending the ground, and pulverizing just about anything else caught in it. The sheer speed and pressure of the rotating winds would have shredded any Human caught within its area of effect…assuming they managed to somehow enter Medea's bounded field. Only magi could do so, and Kirei was waiting for such idiots within the building behind her. "Altria Pendragon, I will not allow you to obtain the Holy Grail! Its power will be used to grant me reincarnation in this world, and to fulfil the promise I made to my daughter."

"How selfish of you…" Sabre retorted, pushing a tree off of her before charging at Medea yet again. Medea responded with white-hot blasts of fire from the tip of her staff; much like her earlier whirlwind, Sabre's magic resistance meant that even if she was hit – which was unlikely as she was dodging Medea's attacks with minimal difficulty – it wouldn't really hurt her much. In any case, Medea was only testing out Sabre's capabilities.

"Come now Sabre…" Medea taunted the blonde. "…is that really the best you can do?"

"Silence…!" Sabre shouted in response, a plasma bolt meeting Excalibur with a fiery explosion…and then the Knight of the Sword jumped out of the smoke, her sword flashing as she bore down on Medea. The sorceress raised her shield…and Excalibur carved through it. Sabre smiled in triumph as Excalibur bisected Medea…only for her eyes to widen in shock at 'Medea' shattering like glass. Cursing, she dodged on instinct as more beams lanced down and demolished the entrance hall of the building.

Expecting this, the real Medea pointed her staff at Sabre as the Knight of the Sword landed on the ground, a bolt of lightning flying to strike the blonde in the chest. As Sabre tumbled across the ground, Medea raised her free hand into the air and all but emptied her reserves. "Eight Gates of Existence…" she cast, no less than eight magic circles engraved with Sanskrit script appearing around her arm, rotating and locking with each other as they aimed at Sabre. "…End of Samsara!"

A blindingly bright beam of light lanced towards Sabre, who poured all of her prana into Excalibur and blocked it directly. The pressure was intense, Excalibur's Authority as derived from King Arthur's legend competing with the five thousand years of history the End of Samsara possessed…until with an explosion that shook the ground like a small earthquake and shattered all the windows in the surrounding buildings for several kilometres around, Medea seemingly triumphed.

* * *

The Thompson Contender fired, the Origin Bullet slamming at supersonic speeds into Kirei's Black Keys and shattering them like glass. And then Kiritsugu's cold expression turned to shock as Kirei continued to charge him, apparently unharmed by the effects of the Origin Bullet. "Time accel…double!" the spell-caster cast, barely avoiding the brutal but precise strikes from the priest that would have broken his neck otherwise. Springing back he opened fire with the MP5 in his other hand, Kirei dodging the first wave of lead and blocking the rest with his Black Keys.

"_Again…_" Kiritsugu silently told himself while staring down Kirei. "_…my Origin Bullet didn't work…with Caster's Master it was possible that she was being protected by ancient sorceries that minimized the effects of modern conceptual weapons but Kotomine…wait a minute…his command spells…damn. He's using them as a source of prana instead of normal magic circuits, so even if I hit him with an Origin Bullet they won't pass the damage on, and would merely vanish instead. But still; the sheer stopping power might be enough…assuming I can find a way to use it properly!_"

Kirei dispersed his Black Keys, switching to hand-to-hand…and then moving faster than expected, closed in on Kiritsugu just as he began to reload, the priest landing a crushing blow in the middle of his chest. The blow instantly pulverized all of Kiritsugu's organs inside his chest cavity, and shattering his bones all the while sending him flying to land against the back wall with enough force to leave a crater, from which Kiritsugu limply slid down to the ground, blood leaking from his mouth. Kirei spent a few more moments staring down his enemy's corpse, and then turned to leave…and then Kiritsugu opened fire with his MP5, a shocked Kirei taking a glancing hit from one bullet to his temple while his bullet-proof and reinforced clothes soaked up the rest.

Simultaneously, Kiritsugu sped up time yet again to reload the Thompson, which he fired at near-point-blank range, disabling Kirei's right arm even as another command spell was sacrificed to counter the concepts of Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet. Almost immediately afterwards, Kiritsugu sped up time again, this time three times normal, reloading his Thompson and closing to point-blank range…only for Kirei to prove his mettle by knocking Kiritsugu's arm aside, the priest refusing to admit defeat so close to obtaining the Holy Grail and countering the Magus Killer's surprisingly skilled follow-up with a combat knife before knocking him back with a kick to a knee.

"Time accel…quadruple!" Kiritsugu cast, ignoring the protests of his ravaged body and putting all his faith in Avalon, springing back and avoiding a killing blow at his head while simultaneously throwing his combat knife at Kirei's knee and impairing the priest's mobility. Even then the priest refused to admit defeat, charging forward with Black Keys held in one hand as Kiritsugu levelled his Thompson at his head…and then the ceiling collapsed, drowning them in crimson and black mud.

* * *

Medea descended from the sky, slowly and cautiously approaching the crater and looking for any sign of her downed opponent…and was caught off-guard when a singed and armour-less but otherwise unharmed Sabre leapt at her, the Servant of the Spell barely avoiding death by a hair's breadth thanks only to the imperative of Sakura's command spells. Raising both hands, Medea fired a beam at point-blank range, only to be blocked by Sabre's Excalibur…and then the Fuyuki Civic Centre exploded, black and red fluid pouring out of the ruins and forming a tangible, tower-like structure.

"Get back, Sabre!" Medea shouted instinctively, her own warped alignment as a spiritual being recognizing a kindred spirit in an instant, and Sabre complied out of the sheer shock that Medea was actually concerned for her safety. Using prana burst, Sabre leapt back and used the nearby trees as jumping platforms to get to a safe distance while Medea flew high into the sky to contemplate with horror the terrifying sight that greeted her. "What in Hades' name is that?" she hissed at the sight of the immaterial tower rising into the sky to end with a claw-like crown around a black orb. Clearly recognizing that nothing good would come of the monstrosity, Medea gestured with her staff, unleashing a full-on barrage with the Rain of Light…to no effect, save to draw the attention of whatever consciousness was behind the tower, black tendrils forming and reaching out to her with terrifying speed.

Cursing, Medea raised a shield…which the tendrils passed through as though they weren't even there, dragging a horrified and screaming Medea into the tower.

* * *

"What the hell is that?" Kariya asked, eyeing the tower through a pair of binoculars from Mt Ryuudo, a bounded field active yet again to prevent the other residents of Ryuudo Temple from awakening until the situation had calmed down.

"I can feel it." Sakura said coldly from behind and above him, and Kariya turned to see Sakura jump off of the tree branch she was sitting on, her magic slowing her descent. Opening her eyes – having closed them on the way down – Kariya took a double-take at the sight of her blue eyes glowing softly and at her 'magus' personality taking over. "I can feel Helios' divine blood boiling in revulsion at that…thing. And I can feel Alaya's eyes turning in our direction."

"What do you mean?" Kariya said in horror at the mention of Humanity's collective consciousness.

"That thing is not something that should exist in this world." Sakura explained. "It is a perversion of everything Divine Spirits exist for. I would know, because thanks to mother I am descended from a Titan of the Age of Gods. But most importantly…that thing…if it is not destroyed soon, Alaya will put forth its power, and a Counter-Guardian or more will come."

"And then everything here will be destroyed." Kariya said, grinding his teeth in anger. "And everyone will die."

"Not everyone…" Sakura disagreed. "…only enough people to ensure the survival of the Human race will die. That is Alaya, the Will of Humanity."

"Is there anything we can do?"

Sakura shook her head. "Nothing, except to wait and hope that somehow that thing is taken down before we all end up dead…" she answered.

"And if Alaya…" Kariya breathed with fear evident in his voice. "…if Alaya and God forbid, Gaea itself should fail to destroy it…?"

"God knows what might happen afterwards…"

* * *

Kiritsugu Emiya emerged from the blasted ruin of the Fuyuki Civic Centre, the tower evaporating around him as it was swallowed by the black orb of the Holy Grail above it. "Why…?" Kirei asked, walking out from behind a ruined wall before him, his voice obviously confused but it was clear that he had witnessed everything. "Why didn't you make a wish?"

Kiritsugu was silent…and shot Kirei through the heart with his Thompson, the priest falling dead to the ground. "It wasn't worth it." He answered the dead man as Sabre ran up to him.

"Kiritsugu…!" she shouted. "What's happening? What is this?"

"This is the Holy Grail…" Kiritsugu replied, walking around and past her, refusing to meet her eyes. Sabre followed him with her gaze, noting the broken and weary tone of his voice. "…it's finished."

"Then…!"

"Yeah…Sabre, by the power of the command spells…"

"…_bring me the Holy Grail…_" Sabre finished for him, anticipating the power of no less than three command spells to assist her in touching the Holy Grail. At last Britain would be reborn…

"…destroy the Holy Grail."

"What…?" she said, wide-eyed in her surprise…but against her will and despite her magic resistance, her prana was already flowing into Excalibur, the crimson runes flashing as they sang of the coming victory…but not in the way its wielder desired.

"It's useless Sabre…" Kiritsugu said, continuing to walk away. "…the Holy Grail is corrupted. We have to destroy it!"

"No…!" Sabre shrieked in denial, her arms already raising Excalibur over her head. "That's not true! I can still save Britain! Kiritsugu please! Rescind your orders…!"

"It's too late. I've used all three of my command spells. Kill me if you want afterwards if you're still around, but destroy the Holy Grail regardless."

"No…! Damn you for eternity, Kiritsugu Emiya!" she screamed as Excalibur swung down, the red and gold beam lancing through the Holy Grail and bathing the sky in light…and turning the city into a sea of fire.

* * *

The city burned. Everything burned, whether it was stone, metal, wood, even flesh and bone. They all burned. A child walked through the flames, driven by a primal desire to survive. He trudged through the burning ruins, his clothes and flesh alike singed by the heat, ignoring the cries of pain and the pleas for help coming from around him.

But just as all good things must come to an end, bad things too must come to an end. Towards daybreak, the flames began to die down, and as the sky wept they finally died. A redheaded boy finally stopped walking as well, and slowly collapsed to the ground. Content with having come this far, he closed his eyes, perfectly willing to die even as a shadow fell over him. Opening his eyes briefly, he beheld the weary face of a man, his eyes lifeless but nonetheless filled with such emotion as though the man was not saving him, but he was saving the man.

"_What I done?_" Kiritsugu silently asked himself as he knelt down beside the survivor, removing Avalon from within him and placing it in the boy to stop his life from further ebbing away. "_From the very beginning, even when I chose to commit lesser evils for the sake of the greater good, I never realized…even now…even tonight…what have I done?_"

"You're looking surprisingly well." Kirei told him, the priest smirking as he hobbled out of the rain and into Kiritsugu's eyesight, and the Magus Killer immediately went onto the defensive and pulling the boy into a protective embrace.

"How…?"

"It would seem that even when you destroyed it the Grail saw fit to grant me a second chance at life…" Kirei replied, the smirk never leaving his face. "…and I must say that your little display of pyrotechnics during the previous night was quite amusing in itself…"

The priest broke off, beginning to laugh loudly and heartily at all the death and destruction caused by the events of the previous night, but before Kiritsugu could even contemplate to draw his Thompson, a purple beam lanced out and vaporized the centre of the priest's chest. For a moment Kirei was frozen in mid-laugh, and then blood erupted from his mouth as he toppled to the ground dead, the centre of his chest gone. "We are finished using you." Medea sneered, walking through the rain with the aid of her staff, the sorceress clearly exhausted and probably injured. "We thank you for your services but they are no longer required. Furthermore it is our esteemed belief that your continued existence will not prove beneficial for our family."

"Caster…" Kiritsugu whispered in recognition. "…Medea…"

"It would seem that getting exposed to that…thing grants Servants a truly corporeal form…" she told him, limping over to and sitting on a pile of rubble. "…unfortunately most Servants would probably be twisted into horrendous parodies of themselves in the process."

"You're different."

"My alignment is Neutral Evil." Medea said softly. "That thing was aligned to Chaotic Evil. Fundamentally we are similar, and therefore repulse each other naturally. When Sabre cracked open the Grail, I was released from its foulness…and it seems that have you to thank for it."

"I don't deserve thanks for what I've done."

"And I don't deserve forgiveness for what I've done."

Kiritsugu and Medea stared at each with slight respect, before standing up together. "What will you do now?" the latter asked the former.

"I will do what little I can…" he whispered while beginning to walk away. After a few moments Medea chuckled softly, causing Kiritsugu to pause and ask "…what so funny?"

"What's funny is that for people like us…Sakura for myself…that boy for you…we all end being saved one way or another by children."

"That's true. Farewell Medea…"

"Likewise, Kiritsugu Emiya…"

* * *

A/N

I originally wanted to include Kiritsugu's conversation with Angra Mainyu, but I decided it would be too long. However I included an edited version of the battle between Kirei and Kiritsugu simply because it was among the most awesome fight scenes in the series (awesome music too IIRC).

Sakura doesn't have mystic eyes, but her eyes glow as a sign of her divine blood (Medea is the granddaughter of the Sun Titan if my Greek mythology is correct) reacting to Angra Mainyu's presence. As for Alaya…she was just making an assumption. She doesn't have a connection to Alaya. As for her two personalities, they'll merge once the 'normal' one catches up to her 'magus' one.

Next chapter: epilogue!


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Second Chance

Epilogue

"Maiya…" Kiritsugu greeted his assistant wearily as she approached, sitting on a chair in Fuyuki General Hospital, and inwardly supressing a shudder as he remembered killing her in Angra Mainyu's twisted explanation of how to use the Grail to become a hero of justice. "…how are you feeling?"

"I'm still a bit sore…" she replied. "…and I doubt I'll ever be as good as I used to be. But so far so good…"

"Sorry…I'm not nearly as good at healing magecraft like Iri was…"

"Don't be…" Maiya interrupted him. "…I'm alive, and I'm grateful for everything you've done for me." Kiritsugu looked blankly at her for a moment before chuckling and smiling. "What will you do now?"

"I'm settling down." He replied much to her surprise. "I'm tired…tired of being the lesser evil for the sake of a greater good. One good thing that came from the corruption in the Grail is that I realized there's no such thing as a lesser evil. Evil is evil, regardless of what the intentions behind the act are. I realize that now."

"I see…and that boy? You're going to adopt him aren't you?" Maiya asked, and then rolled her eyes at his quizzical expression. "You placed Avalon within him. You may think you've changed, but at the end of the day you're still the dreaded Magus Killer. I wouldn't be surprised if your reputation in the supernatural world is such that you might actually become a Heroic Spirit yourself."

Kiritsugu looked blankly at her again, and once again laughed at his own expense. "Yeah, I plan to adopt him. I threw away my chances to see my family again, and set the city on fire to save the six billion lives of Humanity…in many ways I'm no different from a Counter-Guardian in that light. But that boy…he would have died then and there if I hadn't saved him. I'm not nearly as arrogant as to say that raising him will absolve me of all my sins…but for once in my life, I want…I want to be a good person…"

"That doesn't sound very eloquent…" Maiya said after a moment of confusion at Kiritsugu's remark. "…but if that's what you want, then alright, I'll see what I can do for you."

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to…"

"What are you saying?" she interrupted. "No offence Kiritsugu, but raising a child requires a woman's touch. I learned that much from Irisviel."

Kiritsugu looked at her closely and then sighed before getting up. "Well if you want to stick around then I suppose all I can say is I'll be counting on you. Now then, shall we get him, Shiro that is?"

"The hospital staff might make a fuss." She pointed out, and Kiritsugu snorted in response.

"We're magi aren't we?" Kiritsugu told her, and she smiled. Several minutes later (and some judicial use of mental interference), the former assassins were meeting with a redheaded boy with golden eyes in a small waiting room. "Hi there…" Kiritsugu greeted him. "…your name is Shiro right? I'm Kiritsugu Emiya, and this is Maiya Hisau. We were thinking of adopting and well, before that we wanted to ask if you were alright with that."

The boy nodded and took Kiritsugu's offered hand, and with a nod from Maiya led Shiro away. "By the way Shiro, what do you know about magic?"

* * *

Zouken Matou smirked as he watched his familiars consume the fragments of the Lesser Grail. Finding and bringing them back here was a hassle, what with the Association's Enforcers and lately even the Church's Executors crawling over the city like fleas over a mongrel dog, but he'd managed it. All that was left now was to find new pawn for him to use.

Kariya had regained his freedom, but the boy was smart. He wouldn't nearly be stupid enough to try and challenge him in his stronghold. Byakuya and his son were both worthless to him, although either of the Tohsaka sisters might be useful if he could his hands on one of them. The younger, Sakura was safe behind the wards of Mt Ryuudo. Caster might have fallen, but somehow her magecraft had endured and Zouken suspected there might be some traps bound to the girl's body that would make attempting to capture her even when she left the mountain extremely dangerous for him.

The elder, Rin on the other hand might be easier prey. The wards around her home were formidable, but unlike Sakura it was unlikely she had ancient magic binding her person. Her guardian was also the Overseer, a relatively harmless man now that his Executor son was dead, and while her disappearance might raise questions from the Association given the girl's status as inheritor of the position of Supervisor, Zouken felt reasonably certain he could claim her with minimal difficulty. Poisoning the old man and making it appear natural wouldn't be too difficult, and neither would be claiming the girl outside of her property's defences.

Zouken was still thinking this when a dagger with a jagged, iridescent blade stabbed him in the back. Normally something like this wouldn't be any concern for him, given that his body was made of worms but something about this dagger…

"It's been a while vampire." Medea greeted Zouken.

"You bitch!" he spat. "How did you…?"

"It's called magic. And I must say I'm impressed at the solidity – if not the outward appearance – of your own magic. I'm unable to completely nullify your connection with your familiars, but I suppose keeping you still and preventing you from using any magic of your own is good enough for now. So…who will do the honours?"

"Should I do it?" Kariya asked, but Byakuya indicated otherwise.

"No, I'll do it." He said, and walked over to the vessel which contained the worm holding Zouken's soul.

"Byakuya…what are you…?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he snarled in reply, picking up the vessel and looking with hate and disgust at the amoeba-like thing within. "I'm going to kill you for all the pain you've caused me and my brother. I loved my wife, did you know that? And you killed her simply because our first and only child couldn't use magic. Well you know what? Revenge is sweet."

"Byakuya, wait…! We can talk about this!"

With an expression of utter hatred on his face, Byakuya Matou threw the vessel on the ground where it shattered, and brought his booted foot down on Zouken's soul worm and crushing it. Zouken screamed and gurgled, his body falling apart as all his familiars self-destructed in a spray of filth. As the sound of exploding flesh echoed from the pit, Medea cleaned herself (she was standing behind Zouken after all) with a wave of a hand, and with another, set fire to the pit itself.

"Is it over?" Byakuya asked.

"No, we're only beginning." Kariya replied, staring into the flames as Medea gave him the promised potion that would end his alcohol dependency.

* * *

_One year after the Fourth Holy Grail War_

Rin Tohsaka sighed as she left her school and walked for home. Despite all her hopes and prayers, her mother still hadn't recovered from the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War and remained confined in a mental hospital. Father Kotomine assured her that all would be well, but personally Rin wondered if he was only comforting her.

Her depressed thoughts came to a crashing halt with the deployment of a bounded field around her and over the street, and she whirled in alarm to face her sister and two of her friends. "Sakura…" she whispered.

Sakura looked sheepish, and scratched her head, before finally sighing. "Hmmm…how do I say this?" she began.

"Just be honest Sakura." Kyoko told her and Yui nodded in agreement.

"Alright, alright…" Sakura told her friends and fellow magi over a shoulder before turning back to her sister. "…anyway…thanks…"

"Huh…?"

"If you hadn't taught me magic back then, I wouldn't have come this far." Sakura said, refusing to meet her sister's eyes while walking closer and fumbling in her pocket. "Ah…here we go!" she said, pulling a gem from her pocket, and Rin's eyes widened in recognition.

"That gem…?" she whispered.

"You gave me a similar one back then." Sakura said, taking Rin's hand and putting the gem in it. "Thanks for everything Rin, and goodbye. Our paths probably won't cross after this, so take care, Rin Tohsaka."

Stepping back, Sakura and Rin locked eyes with each other, and with a final wistful smile, Sakura turned and walked away. Yui followed immediately, while Kyoko gave a bow to Rin before leaving. Rin looked after their retreating backs, the three seven year-olds chattering away at each other, but it was only after they had left her sight that Rin finally allowed her tears to fall.

* * *

Later that night, Aoi Tohsaka tiptoed to the door of her room and made sure it was locked. Of course it was locked from the outside, but even then, it would take time for the minders in the mental hospital she was in to get in since they had to unlock the door first. Once she was certain, she walked back to her bed and sat down on the edge. Tonight, she would ensure that no one would ever take her 'children' from her ever again. "Sakura…" she said, placing a doll in from of her. "…your father's decided that you are to leave the Tohsaka Clan and to be adopted into the Matou Clan. But…but…if that happens…you'll kill him again. You'll hate me. You'll replace me with that woman. I don't want that to happen."

Smiling tenderly, the deranged woman placed another doll beside 'Sakura'. "Don't worry Rin…" she continued. "…I won't leave you behind. God knows what your father might do if I left you alone with him. He's not a bad man per se, but he can be a bit short-sighted. So you'll come with us instead."

Aoi now took a pillow in one hand. "Don't worry, from what I know death is supposed to be painless, just like falling asleep. You go two ahead, and I'll follow." She said, and then she smothered 'Rin' and 'Sakura' with the pillow in her hand. She continued to press down for several minutes, then satisfied with their apparent deaths, walked over to the camera in the corner…and tore it down.

Knowing she only had a few minutes before the hospital staff came to stop her from joining her 'children', Aoi dragged her heavy bed with the strength of the insane, and placing it against her door. The lock may be operated from the inside, but the door opened inwards. Taking a chair, she also wedged it under the door handle before pulling case off of a pillow and fashioning it into makeshift noose.

Hearing the tell-tale sound of the lock being undone and vain attempts to turn the handle, Aoi hurriedly turned off the ceiling fan and fashioned it into a makeshift gibbet by attaching her noose around it. Hearing the sound of breaking glass from down the corridor, she un-wedged the door handle – predicting that the hospital staff would continue to assume the handle jammed and would focus on breaking the door down instead – and placed the chair under the fan and stood on it while wrapping the noose around her neck.

"I'm coming Rin, Sakura…" Aoi said, tears trickling down her cheeks. "…we'll be together forever."

Closing her eyes she heard an axe breaking through the door before she jumped, vaguely feeling her neck snapping…and then darkness.

* * *

_Two years after the Fourth Holy Grail War_

"In recognition for his services in restoring the glory and honour of the House of Archibald…" an Archibald elder pompously (at least in Waver's opinion) declared. "…Waver Velvet is hereby awarded the title, rank, and status of the Lord El-Melloi II."

Waver bowed before the seated elders, and then took a step back as a manservant brought a document on a silver tray and placed it on the podium before the elders' table. After a moment, Wilhelmina Archibald, the twelve year-old tenth head of the House of Archibald joined him at the podium. "I'm keeping an eye on you Velvet…" she hissed at him, an expression of intense dislike apparent on her face. Good for her, Waver didn't like her either. "…since you're only repairing the damage you've done in the first place, you'll be serving me for the rest of your life."

Waver sighed as she finished signing the document that bound him in vassalage to the House of Archibald, and then it was his turn to sign. At least, they thought it was a feudal document, and failed to notice twitches of amusement on the seated elders' faces. "Now then…" an elder continued. "…there is a final matter to be addressed."

"Can we hurry this up?" Wilhelmina complained.

"It concerns the Lord El-Melloi II's loyalty, Lady Wilhelmina." The elder assured her. "We have considered the possibility of an arranged marriage to ensure his continued loyalty and devotion to the House of Archibald."

"There's an idea…" Wilhelmina said with a sadistic glance at Waver who had blanched at the elder's words. "…the only question left is to decide which poor sap we're marrying Velvet to."

"The decision has already been made Lady Wilhelmina." The elder said smugly as the manservant brought the signed document to them. "In fact the concerned parties have already agreed to the arrangement."

"What…?" Waver exploded. "I didn't agree to anything of that sort!"

"Oh but you just did." Another elder said slyly, and this time both Waver and Wilhelmina blanched.

"N-no, that can't be it…" Wilhelmina stammered, running forward and grabbing the document from the elder's hands. "…t-t-this is not a feudal document…this is a…a…m-m-marriage contract!"

"Are you completely insane?" Waver shouted at the bemused elders. "This is illegal! This is legal…legal malfeasance!"

"Possibly…" an elder conceded. "…but it's too late now. After all, that's not just a marriage contract; it's also a geis."

Waver palmed his face in frustration, while Wilhelmina looked like she might faint any moment now. "You do realize that she's only twelve, right?" he finally said wearily.

"Of course; you will marry when she reaches majority." The elder replied, and Waver staggered out, wondering if he could find himself something to drink, preferably a whole bottle of Spanish brandy, while Wilhelmina was escorted to a nearby sitting room by her maids all the while mumbling things to herself which had Waver's eye twitching in offense. He did not have those fetishes, thank you very much! And more importantly, where the hell did that girl get those ideas in the first place?

As for the elders…the moment the door was closed, they immediately broke out laughing amongst themselves.

* * *

Meanwhile church bells were pealing and flower petals were being tossed into the air in Fuyuki City, as Kariya and Medea Matou walked down the church steps of Kotomine Church arm-in-arm, to the applause and cheers of family and friends.

"Your mother looks very happy." Shinji Matou observed, smiling faintly at his cousin beside him who smiled back.

"She is…and thanks." Sakura Matou responded.

"Whatever for…" Shinji shot back, rolling his eyes. "…I'm only making an observation."

"Sure, sure…"

"Don't start arguing you two…" Byakuya told his son and niece from his place beside his business partner Raiga Fujimura. "…it's those two's big day you know."

"We're not arguing." Sakura and Shinji said at the same time, only to look at each other sourly before looking away, much to Byakuya's consternation and Raiga's amusement.

"Oh those two…" Medea said, noticing her daughter and nephew's behaviour. "…but that's just like them I suppose."

"Are you happy?" Kariya asked beside her, and a blushing Medea kissed him on the cheek before giving a reply.

"Of course I am!" She told him, and then she tossed her bouquet into the air and causing all the women present to gasp and hold out their arms and hands. Ultimately the bouquet fell into a slightly-bemused Maiya Hisau's possession, much to the applause of everyone around her.

"Congratulations Maiya-san…" Shiro Emiya told her before beaming. "…hey, why don't you marry dad already? I know all about the looks you give him and that you've known each other for a long time…"

Maiya interrupted Shiro's little tirade of destruction with an embarrassed cough (which also masked the blush creeping up her face) and said "Don't be ridiculous."

A chorus of laughter followed Shiro's idea even as Risei Kotomine walked in. "_The cardinals are not going to believe this._" He silently told himself before coughing to catch everyone's attention. "Everyone, the lunch is ready. If you'll please follow me…"

* * *

_Three years after the Fourth Holy Grail War_

Three nine year-old magi stepped out into the terminal of London's Heathrow Airport, the three of them pulling their bags along behind them. "I still can't believe you three used mental interference on your parents." Sakura Matou said incredulously, and Yui Shikigami rolled her eyes in response.

"You've said that already. Five times as a matter of fact." She said, and Kyoko smiled in agreement.

"Actually it's six." She said. The three of them were in London to spend the summer as part of a summer program being offered by the Mages Association for young magi, although as far as Yui and Kyoko's families were concerned it was just another overseas summer program. Sakura had come as part of her role as the inheritor of the Makiri lineage (among other things), while Yui and Kyoko had come on their own, funding being provided for the three by the Matou Clan. As Kyoko's family – which was quite wealthy in itself – had not wanted to be seen dependent on the Matou Clan, they'd provided for transportation: first class tickets on British Airways.

"If we hadn't used mental interference we'd never have gotten a chance to go to London and the Clock Tower." Yui pointed out.

"Alright, alright, I get it." Sakura said, and then paused in front of massive windows looking out over London.

"This is the Imperial Capital." Yui said in awe, her eyes being drawn to the Thames, Buckingham, Westminster, Big Ben, the British Museum, and the London Bridge.

"The greatest city in the world…" Kyoko echoed. "…heart of an empire that covers one-third of the globe."

"The British Imperial Capital: London." Sakura finished. Then she turned to her friends with a confident smirk Gilgamesh would have been proud of. "Shall we go then, and believe in miracles?"

"Of course…!"

"That's why we're here."

* * *

"When I was a child…" Kiritsugu began, looking up at the full Moon of mid-summer and sitting beside his son. "…I wanted to grow up and become a hero of justice."

"Why did you give up?" Shiro asked in surprise, unable to believe that his father would ever give up on something.

"To save someone…" Kiritsugu said wearily, his vision beginning to grow blurry. "…means to not save someone else."

"Is that so?" Shiro, looking away from his father and directing his gaze at the Moon as well. "In that case I'll make your dream come true for you. You're an adult, and adults can't dream as well as kids."

"I suppose that's true." Kiritsugu said, his eyes closing. "In that case, I'll leave everything to you then, Shiro."

"Just leave it to me." Shiro said, beaming at his father, who smiled…but didn't say anything or open his eyes. Shiro just looked at his father's smiling face, sadly realizing that at that moment his father's mysterious disease had finally claimed his life. Blinking the tears away, he comforted himself with the knowledge that at the very least, his father lived long enough to pass on his dreams to him.

"Shiro, Kiritsugu, is everything alright?" Maiya asked as she approached, but paused and gave a slight gasp at the sight of Kiritsugu's peaceful face. Sighing, she walked towards and knelt down beside Shiro, who she pulled into a comforting embrace, the ten year-old crying his heart out while she stroked his back comfortingly. Ironically enough, Angra Mainyu's curse would ultimately be foiled, as Kiritsugu did not die in suffering and despair, but in peace having found someone else to carry on his dream.

* * *

A/N

It's finally over! I won't mark this as complete until I get the first chapter of the sequel out though, in a couple of days or so…maybe even tomorrow.

Anyway to summarize the good things…Zouken is dead, Kariya and Medea get married, Yui and Kyoko become magi, and Shiro…Shiro is still Shiro.

The not so good but not so bad things…poor Waver gets roped into a marriage with Wilhelmina (who's twelve when he was twenty-one when they were bound in geis).

And the bad things…Rin is heartbroken (here's to you Ariados26 for the suggestion as to how Sakura can repay her debt) and Aoi commits suicide ala Asuka's mom (except for the part where only she gets hanged and 'Rin' and 'Sakura' get smothered instead).

Unsorted stuff…Shinji and Sakura have a better relationship (no spoilers).


	24. Chapter 24

No, this is not a chapter. Quite obvious really, since I've already given an epilogue. Anyway, the first chapter of the sequel: Altered Fate is already up. Stay golden…


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